Moonlight's Shadow
by daybreaks
Summary: She's a 'curse'. He's an outcast. It's been decided by the divine. They know it's injust. It's one long journey to find out why.
1. Chapter 1: The Begining

**EDIT ON April 22, 2008:**

**Welcome to Moonlight's Shadow, the very very first 'fic of JabberDragon.**

**Full of typos, grammer errors, plot redunduncies, whiney angst, Mary Sues and Gary Stus.**

**Also comes with bad characterization, bad plot, and logic inconsistencies.**

**It also had a major re-edit session halfway through, which it never QUITE got over.**

**Moonlight Shadow is currently living on LIFE SUPPORT and on her creator's sentimentality/ego.**

**Bewarned and tread carefully.**

**JabberDragon.**

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 1:

The Begining

* * *

Shadow was not your usual everyday Eeevee. She was a loner and for three reasons: the first reason was that she was always seemed to be a little distant sometimes when talking to you. It was like talking to a ghost really. Sometimes she looked touched that you were talking to her, other times she looked like she was in a different world, too immersed by her thoughts to her you.

The second reason was that she had icy blue eyes. Even when she smiled or just glanced at you, it seemed to have an intimidating effect. While this may have been perfect for battles, it was disastrous for making friends. This made the pack members quite uncomfortable when around her- and normally avoided her or broke off any conversation with walking away.

The third reason was that Shadow was an adopted member of the pack. She had been found after a serious flooding with no parents after she was around a week old. A few of the pack members took pity for her and pleaded that she be adopted, ignoring her eye color. There was a bit of a ruckus, as many of the pack members disagreed with adopting her. Fortunately those members who wanted her in the pack were the most powerful ones in the pack- but that didn't stop the silent treatment she was given. Even those who opted for her to be adopted(which rhymes!), later found that it was hard to talk to such an Eevee because over the months as she grew up, the Pokemon had been forced to accept a rank of 'outcast'.

_"Why am I so different?"_ Shadow thought, sitting down beside a river. She let her tail dangle in the slow current, the gentle bubbling of the water helping to soothe her feelings. Maybe it was from the flooding at her early age that she had learned to love water. Whatever the reason, she was normally by this river- or in it.

The question came again, _"Different… I'm different from all the others…Why?"_

She never asked to be like this! Some of the other pack members had blue eyes and yet they weren't shunned like her. She didn't understand at all. Other then her eyes, she looked normal! Shadow gazed at her reflection in the river. She had a bushy brown tail that was tipped with white and was currently now-wet and beginning to get cold. She hastily pulled it out of the water.

Yes, her paws were the same as any Eevee in the pack too- or maybe not. A small scowl was produced when the underside of the paws were revealed to the Eevee's face by turning them over. They were quite beautiful brown paws really- plain brown with some smudges of mud in it. Any other undersides of any other paws of Eevees-or even any other Pokemon- in the pack were completely white. Not even a tinge of brown, lack, or any other color- just white, pure white. A reason why the pack called themselves the White Paw Pack. All pack members had white paws except for one adopted member- guess who?

But- other then that…Shadow scanned the rest of her body. She was the same. Except for her paws- and her eyes. Her dreadful blue eyes! Shadow forcefully slapped one of her paws in the river, making her reflection in the water disappear into many drop of water. The Eevee looked away from the river- though it may have been water from the river, there was a teardrop or two rolling the cheeks of the Pokemon.

Why, of all the Pokemon in the world, why did the Gods choose her to be like this? Was she curse? Bad luck? Were her parents evil, vile creatures that their child was a punishment to their sin? But of course the Eevee couldn't believe that- or she wouldn't.

Shadow's image of her parents was blurry, but they always seemed to be smiling at her, somehow. She believed them to be good, not bad- and if she ever found out that they actually bad…Well it just didn't bear thinking about. There was always a hazy someday when she saw herself with her parents as a family eating, sleeping, hunting... Yeah that was the life- or would be.

But for now… Shadow sighed as she watched two Eevees play fighting, a few meters off. She trotted up to them a little hopeful but as soon as she came close they stopped playing and stared at her. Almost simultaneously, they turned around, their fluffy tails slapping Shadow's nose. The Eevees then ran back to their mothers and one made a face at her while a Flareon growled at her menacingly. But for now… she was the runt of the pack, the Eevee when any important Pokemon came she was stuck in a dark corner to be hidden away- not to be displayed proudly like some of the other Eevees. Shadow quivered, standing alone and deeply hurt.

But maybe, everything would change tomorrow- the day she turned a 1 year old. Actually, it was the day when she turned around a year old. The Eevees in the pack tomorrow would attend the ritual of evolution. Most would evolve, while few would not. Yes, that was the day she turned a year old- or ABOUT a year old.

You see, all of the Eevees in the pack definitely were not born on the same day- so the pack chose a day that would be approximately cover when most or all the Eevees would be turning a year old. It was also the same day as a full moon. Many of the Eevees would evolve into Jolteons, Flareons, Vaporeons, Espeons, and Umbreons. Some Eevees would not and they would attend the next year- or the next. Or maybe they'd never evolve at all. They were also the shunned members of the pack.

But they were less shunned then her. Shadow desperately wanted to be a Vaporeon. She had seen the Vaporeons in the pack who could dissolve into water, then come back into their original form again. It was amazing. The Eevee knew it was up to the Elementals to decide what she'd be but it was normal for most Eevees to get what they wanted or needed. The Elementals were the three sibling gods. They were Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres- they were the deities of Eevees and their evolutions.

Tomorrow was the day she'd change- finally. The pack would congratulate her and she would have family. They would cheer her on when she would rescue a young Eevee from drowning in the river and they would her give the warmest spot next to the fire when they slept.

Shadow looked at her surroundings and smiled a little when she saw a Skarmory flying overhead. His plumage was shining in the evening sun, his wing feathers razor sharp for battle. The bird Pokemon when he saw Shadow smiled at her though he did not utter a calling to her. He cast an eye over the rock cave that the pack lived in, the pack members and Shadow, before flying on. The Eevee turned her head to the forest where an old dirt path was overgrown with plants and bushes.

Apparently the humans made many of these 'paths' through the forest though it was a mystery why. Shadow had seen few humans in her life and had always wondered what they were like. Their paws were split into five segments and walked awkwardly on two legs. Their ears were tiny and they wore absurd things called clothing instead of having fur. Really, they could be monsters- and from what she'd hear, they were. They destroyed whole forests and made huge tall things that touched the sky. They captured Pokemon for their own devices too. Although these humans seemed evil and ugly the Pokemon couldn't but feel any hatred for them. She didn't know why. In fact, she couldn't even hate her pack who shunned her. How could she? They were the closest thing to family that she had.

Shadow looked as the rest of the pack was settling in for the night. Dinner had been eaten and now they started to walk inside the rock den. She shuddered as an Umbreon passed her. Though she never admitted it, Shadow was afraid of the dark and was always nervous with Umbreons and the Pokemon of the night. There seemed to be a dark aura coming from them that scared her. At this point the reader might wonder why this Eevee was named Shadow. The pack had named her Shadow as she always seemed to be in the shadow of another Pokemon and was never in the center of attention. It was a bit ironic, seeing as she was terrified of the dark.

Slowly, Shadow walked to the Rock cave in which the pack lived in, averting her eyes as a Jolteon glared at her. Sighing, Shadow reached her sleeping spot- the darkest area of the cave where no one could see her. She was frightened of the dark, but she was even more frightened of the Pokemon who moved away from her or shrank from her eyes. Lying down, Shadow put her head on her paws and closed her eyes. Tommorow was the day- the day she'd finally change.

Shadow was only too right about changing and the pack seeing her as someone else. It did happen. But everything became completely opposite of what she wanted.

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Doone!


	2. Chapter 2: Ritual of Evolution

Hey, lookie here. You're back for Chapter 2. Yay! Hip hip hooray!

Ok now for the stuff-

DISCLAIMER: Once upon a time StarDragon X said "I own Pokemon!" Unfortunately that's a lie.

CLAIMER: I still own my characters and all my ideas.

And now for…

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Moonlight's ShadowChapter 2:

Evolution

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Shadow woke up flying through the air. Before she had time to fully awake or even think (about an angry Espeon behind her) she had landed on something soft- how lucky. Or not- the 'soft something' on which she had landed on was really a Flareon who looked about as angry as a rabid Rhydon.

Shadow scrambled off the older Pokemon.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Blaze!" The Eevee had her head touched to the ground.

'Blaze' scowled at Shadow- he was one of the pack members who had long ago disagreed with adopting Shadow into the pack. Oh why didn't the hand of fate pick someone else to fall on? Now the Pokemon around the two had quieted, and they looked on intently, murmuring among themselves. The Flareon slapped Shadow across her face and was starting to produce a ball of fire in his mouth when Shadow glanced up at him.

Blaze swallowed hardly and closed his mouth. Not many could withstand it when Shadow fixed her eyes directly on you. It more felt like she was looking at your soul or your heart then anything else. The Flareon swiftly turned and walked away, growling some curses at the onlookers. Soon, the crowd dispersed and as they did came a couple of kicks at her.

Shadow looked around her, feeling a little lost as families pushed past her and chattered to each other. The White Paw Pack, was quite big, consisting of around 30-33 members. In fact, it was a wonder how they all managed to fit inside the rock cave in which they lived. But, however, amazing that was, the thought would wait for later.

Shadow stood up quickly, and pushing her way, through the others, she hurried outside. It was still dark outside, still night. Even though it was way darker here, it was also much more peaceful here without the hustle and bustle going on inside that cave. Avoiding the eerie darkness that somehow wrapped around her like a death grip, Shadow closed her eyes and sighed.

"_Just imagine…"_ Shadow thought, _Just a few hours to sunrise… A few hours till my life changes…"_

Shadow's eyes snapped open as her ears picked up sound of someone- or something. Alert, she scanned the area outside the cave in an attempt to spot the intruder. With no night vision, Shadow waited as the sound of footsteps began to near her position.

Soon enough, an Umbreon appeared out of the darkness, startling Shadow. The Umbreon did not look at Shadow and neither did Shadow look at the Umbreon as she passed the Eevee. Shadow shivered a little, before deciding to return back into the cave before anymore Umbreons came to startle her.

As she entered, those near her, somehow seemed to distance themselves from her and Shadow sadly slinked into a dark spot in the cave where she stood hidden from view. Darting and ducking-to avoid detection- the Eevee navigated her way through the crowd to an Espeon who was keeping an eye on everyone.

"I'm ready Akara." Shadow bowed her head in respect to the older Pokemon.

They then made eye contact, a quick glance before Akara, the Espeon, turned her gaze back to the rest of the pack.

"That's good Shadow. Wait here for the others." The Espeon motioned with a flick of her tail to Mothers who were crying over their children and grooming them to the point of possible insanity.

Akara, was the priestess in the pack, an aged Pokemon who had traveled the Pokemon World in her youth before returning to the pack, the White Paw pack to become the priestess. She was also one of the Pokemon who took part into adopting Shadow into the pack. Though old, she was sleek and muscled- one who wouldn't lose in battle easily.

The minutes ticked by as Shadow sat there, watching and waiting as more Eevees came to sit in front of Akara. They chattered to each other, their faces bright with excitement. Shadow snorted to herself when she overheard the somewhat juvenile conversation of the others:

"Once I evolve I'll be soooooo strong that even the Gods will respect me!" An Eevee, the biggest of the group, stood up to display his muscles and size.

"Well I'll be stronger so that I'll be Pack Leader of the whole world!" challenged another, headbutting the one who had spoken to the ground.

"I think I'll go play with the Goldeen..." whispered a small Eevee, "They're nice to me! One's called Fireball!"

"No way!" a new Eevee turned to face the one who had spoken, "That's not right!"

"It is!" the smaller Eevee stuck out her tongue.

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Brat."

Akara at this point walked over to that Eevee who was beginning to rant about what she'd do with anyone who'd mess with her Goldeen friends and her- that is what she'd do AFTER she'd evolved. After a few moments of conversation, the Espeon ushered the Eevee back to her Mother. Too young.

Shadow looked to around her where pack members were slowly getting seated for the ceremony. Winterchill, the pack leader had been seated and looked to be meditating as he had his eyes shut and was rocking back and forth. Blaze, the Flareon whom Shadow had crashed into earlier was still giving her what could be described as the 'evil eye'. Shadow quickly turned away- he wasn't looking at all scary like he had probably hoped but probably more…creepy. Shadow shuddered.

The sound of chatter and talking soon filled the Eevee's ears as she licked herself in an effort to look better. It was partly in vain because she could only lick or groom herself to where her mouth could reach. Everyone else –that is the other Eevees- were spick and span. Not a single trace of dirt on their fur. Shadow looked up, hearing a small noise.

It was Akara, "Ahem!"

There was instant silence- well about. There was an outburst of, "I wanna evolve and see Fireball!" but that was quickly hushed.

"Greetings to all of you, the young, and the old, the mothers and fathers, the friends and relatives, but most of all- Members of White Paw Pack." Akara paused, to raise her paw, which was indeed, pure white.

"Young Eevees," Akara fixed her eyes on over the group of young Pokemon who were fidgeting and biting their tails nervously, "This is the day in which many of you may or may not evolve," said Akara, "Many of you may have already discussed what the Gods may have chosen for your future. Whatever the Gods chose, there is a purpose for it."

Akara paused again and motioned to the Jolteon who was the current source of light in the cave. He nodded and the cave was plunged into darkness. Only the bright eyes of some of the pack members were visible, Shadow herself included with her blue eyes.

"In the beginning of time, Eevees did not evolve as they do now. They simply stayed they way they were- from birth to death. This made them one the weakest Pokemon Race, and packs of Eevees were rapidly becoming scarce in the fight for food and land. So a young Eevee named Koja decided to change this once and for all.

He bid farewell to his pack and said goodbye to his friends as he set out on his quest for evulotion. Even though he was a seasoned warrior, the world was not kind to Koja and many times he was captured by the humans and ambushed by other unfriendly Pokemon. Finally, after many days, Koja arrived in the lair of Moltres- the Deity of Fire.

The Eevee bowed his head in respect and asked that they Eveee Race might be rescued from extinction by an evulotion of Fire. The Fire God refused. Even when Koja pleaded, demanded, and begged the answer was the same shake of the head or a small word. Finally, Koja asked a question to the God. Why? Moltres told him that he was not worth enough- yet.

So the Eevee traveled once again. Through mountains, jungles, forests and seas until he finally reached the island of Artiunco- the Deity of Ice. He then bowed his head in respect and asked for an evulotion. The answer from the Goddess was the same: he was not worthy enough- yet. Koja turned around and sadly journeyed on.

Again, through the seas, jungles, mountains, and forests did the Eevee travel seeking the last Deity out- Zapdos, Deity of Thunder. Koja bowed his head in respect and repeated the same question that he had said to the other two Deities. But even as he begged, fell to the ground, yelled, growled, and shouted the answer was the same as the rest: he was not worth enough-yet.

The Pokemon had now been traveling for many years now and had received news that his pack had been wiped out by other Pokemon as he was journeying. Koja wept and stood alone in the world, confused. His quest was meaningless, his family had died, his friends had died, and he was old and weak. But even in his despair the Pokemon trudged up the highest mountain in the world, climbing until he reached the heavens.

But when he reached the heavens, he was on his last step, Koja collapsed at the feet of Mew, the Divine God. And as the Eevee drew his last breath to die Mew touched the forehead of the Eevee and whispered, "You are indeed worthy." And as the God touched the Eevee, Koja's body shattered into millions of jewels. One third of the jewels were red, another third blue, and the last third yellow.

Koja had finished his quest. Eevees were not blessed with just one evulotion but five. Three from the jewels and two from the unknown deities of day and night."

Akara stopped talking and her tail stopped swishing.

"Now is the time in which the Gods will choose!" The Espeons head was lifted high and for a split second, her eyes turned white. A Flareon stepped out of the darkness to stand beside Akara before a Vaporeon stepped forward, then a Jolteon, and finally an Umbreon. They stood for only a moment in silence before all five began speaking at the same time, their voices echoing loudly throughout the cave.

"Year old Eevees answer the call, of evolution and great change.

Elemental Eons, five in type,

The Children of Fire, Water and Ice,

Darkness and Light!

First the Eevees, our life and birth.

Second the Flareons, children of Fire. We command the forces of Heat and Flames.

Jolteons, children of Lightning and Thunder. We use Electricity to our power.

Vaporeans, children of Water and Ice, We use Snow and Water against our foes

Umbreons children of night and darkness, we can summon the shadows to our call.

Espeons children of day and light. We control the strange forces that you cannot see or smell.

Gods of Legends, Gods quite real,

Answer our young,

Their call of Evolution!"

There was a period of silence respecting the moment.

"Now is the time! Quickly everyone outside!" called Akara as she saw the first bright beams of the sun rising. The whole pack scurried outside. The Eevees soon seated themselves in a ring, for once quiet and the five Pokemon who had chanted earlier were inside the ring. They too were seated in a ring and many types of the Elemental stones were placed in a ring.

The rest of the pack gathered around the Eevee's and sat or stood watching expectantly. It was silent. The pack, and even the land was still as they watched they sun begin to rise. They all sat they expectantly watching and waiting until Akara motioned to an Eevee.

Akara's eyes went pure white before returning to their normal black color as a Thunder Stone rose in the air by itself and touched the forehead of the Eevee. The Pokemon was encased in light totally and when it dimmed his was grinning madly and electricity crackled around him. He had evolved into a Jolteon. Proud, he strode over to his parents and watched as another Eevee took her place in the center.

Shadow watched as the Eevees changed into Espeons, Umbreons, Vaporeons, Flareons, or Jolteons. She was the last one and her heart began to thump as more and more Eevees evolved and left the circle. Soon she was the only one left. She didn't know how that worked but she was glad she was last for the more delaying was the better. Shadow got up and went into the middle, her fur bristling with excitement. The five Pokemon who surrounded her looked emotionless and stared at her eerily.

The Eevee closed her eyes as saw light surround her. But even her eyelids couldn't stop the overflow of light that half blinded her. When it finally dimmed, Shadow opened her eyes, still dazed from the light.

Shadow took a deep breath and gazed over the pack expecting to see smiles and happy faces. But as Shadow looked they were not accepting eyes that met her excited eyes. The same ones that always met her blue ones- scared,uncomfortable, uneasy.As she looked at herself she was absolutely horrified. Totally black with ringlets meant only one thing: she had evolved into an Umbreon.

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Did you like that too?

Review. Review some more. Review a lot more.

Yep! That's what you can do.

-StarDragon X


	3. Chapter 3: No Mercy or Mercy?

Hello. Chapter 3- 3 is a magic number right?

CLAIMER: I own Shadow, the story idea, and the characters.

DISCLAIMER: Someone owns Pokemon. (BIG HINT- it's not StarDragon X)

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow

Chapter 3: No Mercy or Mercy?

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The whole pack seemed to be in a complete daze. Shadow looked around her, growing dizzy and faint. Wherever she went she seemed to see Umbreons, blackness, and fear. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be- Shadow trembled, her head down and shook. Of all her fears that would be true- this was the biggest. Though even in that hazy lazy day known as 'yesterday', she had not expected this. Never. Was even the gods cold to her? Was she some sort of curse to be transformed into this monstrosity? There was no hope for her anymore.

Shadow howled to the sun. She howled to the gods, to the pack, and Akara. She howled to the land and the sea- the sky, the moon and the stars. She howled to the unknown and the spirits and forces. She howled to whatever creature who might listen to her. She howled in grief and sorrow. A howl that pierced through you, ripped through you, reminding you of every sad event in your life.

Pokemon heard it, Humans heard it- everyone heard it. Trainers stopped their battles and Birds stopped their flight. A houndoom stopped in its hunt, a dragonite stopped in midair. Every living creature or thing heard the noise. Every spirit or force heard the noise. And they stopped to listen.

Tear drops fell to ground and Shadow's heart throbbed as she felt her new power. And for the one time in her life, her whole entire life- Shadow was not afraid of this black force. In fact, she liked it. She let the darkness wash over her and as it did a ripple of energy went out and spread over the pack- seemingly suffocating everything that was under it. Even in the pack's previous dazed state, they seemed to be immobilized and unmoving. Under a spell.

"What went wrong?" cried Shadow, "WHAT?"

Shadow eyeballed the Priestess of Evolution, for once forgetting all protocol and behavior. The Espeon shook her head weakly and shrugged. She was the only one not powerless under Shadow's dark cape of energy.

"EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT I FEAR!" screeched Shadow, "EVEN THE GODS SHOULD KNOW!"

The Espeon gave no answer but kept shaking her head.

Shadow hissed and a jolt of her black power struck out suddenly and held Akara by the neck, raising the priestess into the air. It was almost like a real hand, that power that held Akara. Ready to strangle, ready to kill. Shadow laughed madly.

"You were one of the most powerful ones in the pack priestess! But now! No look at you. You cannot even withstand me. Maybe in this state will you give me an answer!"

Shadow tightened her hold on Akara. The helpless Pokemon coughed and sputtered.

"WHY?" cried Shadow, "WHY?"

"AM I A CURSE TO BE AFFLICTED LIKE THIS?"

Akara gasped for air, trying to find the breath to talk.

"WHY! WHY! WHY!" screamed Shadow, "GIVE ME AN ANSWER! WHY AM I LIKE THIS?"

This time the answer was different: the Espeon drew a long breath and uttered three single words.

"I don't know."

Akara's body hung limp for moment in the grip of the 'black hand' before Shadow's feelings of grief and unhappiness washed away to shock of what she had just done. She recalled her power feeling eerie as she felt it inside her. The Espeon dropped to the ground and lay there- crumpled up and lifeless. Akara the Espeon, Priestess of Evolution was dead. She had just killed the second most important person in the pack- she had just killed a warrior more experienced in fighting then she was. She had just killed one of the few Pokemon who had shown her any signs of affection- she had just killed a Pokemon who was the main reason she was in the White Paw Pack.

The black shadow over the pack vanished and they snapped out of their trance. For a minute or so, there was silence in the air as brains clicked and clacked to work out what happened. When they comprehended the pack seemed to erupt with noise. Wailing and crying filled the air while the four Pokemon directly around Shadow growled and snapped while shedding tears of their own. A Flareon bounded over to the dead body of Akara and wept miserably. For once, no one was afraid of Shadow's eyes.

Winterchill slowly got up and walked to Akara. There were tears in the Vaporeon's eyes as he comforted the Flareon who was weeping uncontrollably at the body. The Flareon, Akara's sister held the head of her sister against her cheek and cried the deep sorrow. Winterchill, after stroking Akara's head, walked slowly to Shadow.

"I will answer your question."

"The Gods do things for their reasons which will benefit our world. I do not know whether you are a curse or not but I do know that you are now a danger to the pack." Winterchill stopped.

"I once thought that adopting you was a good idea- to give you love, to give you care. But now, after what-what happened…" There was a glance at Akara.

"My thoughts have changed. You have used your powers for evil and I cannot allow that for safety in the pack."

Shadow had her eyes glued to the ground and began to chant softly, "Have mercy on me, have mercy on me…"

"Kill her!" wailed Akara's sister looking up, "Her powers are immense and they have already been used for destruction and death!"

"Yes!" agreed another, "She is a curse to the pack. We all have seen her eyes- she is too abnormal to be normal."

"Have mercy on me, have mercy one me, have mercy on me, have mercy on me…" Shadow

"Give her what she has given to Akara. Give her death." said Blaze.

The whole pack started to chant now, chanting like Shadow did,"Kill her! Kill her!

"She has disrupted us from the day she came! She is not a true member of this pack!"

Winterchill gazed at his fellow pack members before turning to Shadow. There would indeed be a mutiny. The newly evolved Pokemon was shaking from head to toe- standing in a puddle of tears.

"Mercy…Mercy. Mercy. Have Mercy…"

Winterchill lifted Shadow's chin up with one of his paws. The Umbreon stopped chanting.

"For even all the trouble and dangers that you may have caused the White Paw Pack… I will not- I cannot kill you."

Shadow's shaking stopped.

"Than-"Her mouth was closed shut by Winterchill's paw.

"However." Winterchill dropped his paw to the ground, "This act of murder will not go unnoticed."

Shadow's eyes widened as the Vaporeon swiftly turned to face the pack.

"Give her murder!" screamed one.

Many heads nodded.

"A death for a death?" questioned Winterchill, "What good will that do?"

"A death of an insane powerful evil Pokemon for a death of a well cherished, well loved, kin!" An Espeon spat it out at Winterchill, being sure to glare icily at Shadow.

"I'm a curse… A curse I am but have mercy on me…" whispered Shadow.

"She says so herself," declared an Umbreon, hearing what Shadow said, "She admits what she is- a curse."

There were several murmurs of agreement on this as the pack members turned to talk to each other.

"We cannot let this vile monster go and wreck havoc on the world. We must stop her before she goes on. Death is the only answer."

As Shadow shook her head upset and distraught, silently chanting for mercy, one Jolteon spoke up and Shadow's ears perked up.

"Clearly the young one's powers were out of control. She was very much upset. With training it could be amended." He said.

The pack began to murmur amongst themselves again. Shadow began to chant again to herself.

"Have mercy... Have mercy... Have mercy..."

"Kaz, she has just killed Akara! Do you really want to chance another of her killing anyone else in our pack? Even your young one?" cried Akara's sister.

The Jolteon called Kaz glanced at his son; a newly evolved Espeon then shook his head and said no more at the time being. Kaz's son looked questioningly and sacredly at the Umbreon who was shaking and chanting quietly in the center of them all. Kaz shook his head while drawing his son closer to him. Winterchill looked at the Pokemon around him. His family, his kin, and most of all his pack. Was he giving it all up for one Pokemon? A Pokemon who had murdered and already caused trouble in his pack? It was like a single Abra against a raging horde of Dolphans. He could dodge and evade but sooner or later he'd had to answer to them.

"Not death, perhaps… but exile." said Winterchill slowly. Shadow shook her head wildly. It couldn't be happening. She might as well be killed then be avoided and shamed by other Pokemon for the rest of her life.

"That will suffice…" said Akara's sister.

"Give her exile." Said Kaz agreeing, "It is better then death."

But he knew with his heart that it probably wasn't. As did most pack members. But then, the greater the punishment, the better for the 'monster' was the though of most of the Pokemon there.

"Exile." An Umbreon nodded his head agreement. The others did to with little bits of statements as they did. Finally as the pack members nodded their heads Winterchill sighed.

"Is there no other option?"

"Have mercy! Have mercy on me!" pleaded Shadow, a final time.

Winterchill moved closer to the Umbreon.

"Stand up." Shadow obeyed automatically- what else was she to do?

The Vaporean took one last look at the pack- the pack who was shouting him on to do this deed- before turning to do his duty. Taking a deep breath and one mighty swipe, he clawed the forelegs of Shadow, leaving two 'x' shaped gashes in the Pokemon's legs- one on each leg and clearly visible. That was the mark of one who was exiled. Shadow gasped in pain but she did not lick the wounds, she only stared emotionlessly at the pack members who were smiling grimly at her. Winterchill turned to face the pack, tears in his eyes.

"It is decreed by I Winterchill, pack leader of the White Paw Pack that Shadow, of one years old and an Umbreon is to be exiled for murder of a fellow pack member who did no wrong against this Pokemon and did not provoke her to form any type of attack.

Winterchill turned to Shadow, "We will let you go soon- run as fast from this pack as you can. Do not look back, do come back. For if you do, death will be your fate. You may not come in contact with any pack member or our territory. Never again use the name White Paw for your pack. You have none. There is no mercy given for one such as yourself."

No mercy.

* * *

Dramactic- but! 3 is a magic number.

-StarDragon X


	4. Chapter 4: Koja

Hi. Since I have nothing else to say then…

CLAIMER: I own this story that you are reading or not going to read or will read or will be skim reading or will be trashing or whatever.

DISCLAIMER: StarDragon X would own Pokemon if someone else didn't own it.

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Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 4:

Koja

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Shadow ran for her life. Faster then she had ever ran before. Past the grounds of the pack, over the river, past the trees and into the forest. Even as Shadow ran, the Umbreon desperately wanted to look back- just one last time. But she could always sense someone's eyes on her- so she didn't, to be safe. The Umbreon kept running and running- it was almost as if she couldn't stop herself.

Who could fight Akara and win? Let alone kill! The Espeon wasn't such a high ranking Pokemon in the pack for no reason. Then…There was the 'curse'- her. It made sense. It all did. She had been found after a devastating flood- she had caused the flood. She had divided up the pack- some not against her and some deadly against her. She had broken up families and friends by just coming into the pack. She had killed a pack member- she had disrupted the White Paw Pack by being an adopted member. No one had done that and that alone was trouble- she was a curse…

The Umbreon let the thoughts drop a little. She had enough tension and worries, confusions and frights today to last her a lifetime. There was no point in make her any more paranoid about anything.

"Nice day for running huh?"

"Yeah I suppose," Shadow ducked her head under a low branch.

"Where are you going- if I may ask?"

"Somewhere…" Shadow said distantly. She didn't really care- what was life now? There was nothing more.

There was a period of silence for a while before Shadow realized that there was actually someone beside her- not a voice in her head. She glanced to her right and sure enough a male Absol about two years old was running besides her. The Umbreon tripped in surprise and landed in a small heap on the ground.. The Absol stopped running, amused at what he saw.

"Why did you scare me?" asked Shadow irritably, getting off the ground. But while she did, she quickly rubbed dirt over the 'x' shaped wounds on her forelegs. He didn't need to know she was an exile.

"What do you mean, scare you?" retorted the Absol, "I was just talking to you! Who else do you expect? Your conscious? A voice in your head?"

"Yes, I thought it was a voice in my head." said Shadow stiffly.

The Absol laughed but was silenced by a glare from Shadow's blue eyes.

He cringed and looked away, "You wouldn't mind to stop that look? It's quite paralyzing."

Shadow's glare stopped immediately, "I'm sorry."

Shadow bowed her head a little to the Absol before starting back into a run, "Well- it was nice meeting you. But I have to go."

She could feel the dirt falling off her legs. That couldn't happen. She didn't care if the Absol thought she unpolite or something- he shouldn't see those wounds. If he knew she was an exile- he might tell the whole forest. And if the whole forest knew- well things might get quite dangerous.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The Absol bounded in front of her, "When I said your glare was paralyzing… I meant it as a compliment! Yeah! A compliment!"

What was up with this Absol? Couldn't he take a hint? Was he suspicious of her being exiled or something? Was he some kind of stalker?

"You know you're a terrible liar." she said, "But I-"

"Glad to hear it. What's your name?" The Absol grinned at her.

A maniac maybe?

"Ah- ah-" The Umbreon tried decided whether to actually give her name to the stranger, "It's- it's Shadow."

"Koja for me- nice to meet you."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Koja glanced at Shadow confused, "No…"

"Koja is like a demi-god to the Evees and their Evolutions. He's the one supposedly responsible for them being able to evolve."

Shadow began walking again. She noticed with growing fear that Koja had glanced at her forelegs. If he knew then he seemed to take not much notice of it. Maybe he was an ignoramus and didn't know what those scars meant- hopefully.

"Really?" asked Koja interested. He grinned with stars in his eyes, "Koja… the demi-god…"

"Koja was an Evee- not an Absol. I'm sorry to burst your bubble." Informed Shadow.

Koja looked offended, "My mother is a Flareon, and my father is an Absol. Besides that, what's a sweet Umbreon like you traveling a lone?"

Shadow froze and she tried to smile casually at him, "Oh just-"

She searched frantically for an answer before looking brightly at Koja, "Searching for my parents."

Shadow decided to throw the question back at the Absol before he had anymore time to ponder about her answer, "So what are you doing, traveling alone?"

Koja twitched and his red eyes widened a little, "Just- just wandering."

"Ah."

There was something wrong with this Absol. He was hiding something.

"You know- Shadow…"

The Umbreon cocked her head as she walked along, "Hm?"

"The world isn't exactly what you call a safe place is it?"

"No- of course not." Any Pokemon knew that.

"Well- it'd be much easier for me to travel if I knew there was someone watching my back."

"Are you implying that we travel together?"

"Basically- yes."

There was something wrong here. Firstly, she was a year younger then this 'Koja'. How was she supposed to watch his back?

"I'm a whole year younger then you." She stated bluntly.

"You don't act like a 'whole year younger'." Stated Koja just as bluntly.

"We don't know each other. We met a few minutes ago."

"What difference does that make?" asked Koja, "You don't seem like an assassin."

"You might be." Shadow pointed out.

"Well you know I'm Koja who's a year older then you. I know you're Shadow whose a year younger then me. There- we know each other."

Shadow swallowed. She could probably take him on with- with her powers. But even as she thought that, she felt uneasy. That just wasn't her killing Akara. She would never do that- what happened?

"Well?" Koja was waiting.

Shadow snapped out of her thoughts quickly, "No thank you. I-I can't burden you with the responsibility of watching my back."

"Well- you said you were searching for your parents right?"

Shadow's heart nearly missed a beat- what was he going to ask now? About her pack? About Akara? What?

"Yes…"

"Well, how do you intend on finding them? Waltzing around the world? Asking every Pokemon you meet whether they're your mother or father?"

Shadow breathed an inward sigh of relief- easy.

"Of course not! I'm going to go to this human pack ground."

"They're called cities, towns, or villages pup."

"Well, anyway, this ca-city is called something like… Soffon City."

"Saffron City?"

"Yes! That's it! And I'm going to find a Psychic Pokemon there to help me. Apparently there are many in that city."

"Do you know how to get to Saffron City?"

"No."

"Good! That settles it!" Koja ruffled Shadow's head, "Let's go, my new-found companion, let's go!"

"What?"

"You don't know how to get to Saffron City and from the looks of it, you don't know what it looks like. So you then can't accomplish your goal of finding your parents. I know how to get to Saffron City. Therefore without me basically you can't accomplish your goal in finding your parents." Stated Koja in a very logical manner.

Shadow swallowed. She was caught really.

"See? All good?"

"Yes but…One more question- why me? Why help me? I can't give you anything in return. I'm of probably no value to you. Why do you want to help me?

"Because little Shadow-" Koja paused, "I want some company- you're good for that. You're actually quite a good Pokemon to talk to… And you're a fellow Dark Pokemon."

Shadow cringed.

"Oh, wait I mean Children of the Night. You were probably brought up that way weren't you?"

"Yes! Yes! I was." Shadow nodded her head vigorously while secretly scolding herself for cringing because of the word 'Dark'.

"But aren't you- I mean how about my eyes?"

"They're rare and ah- unique. In fact, they'd be great for fending off any enemies- another good reason to have you with me. Just don't stare with them- one it's rude and two people will think someone's one with you. Don't gaze at someone directly in the eyes- right? Ok!"

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"Let's stop here for the night." The Two travelers were in a small clearing that was surrounding by various fruit and berry trees.

"Fine with me." Shadow shrugged but she was growing more tense by the moment. Back at her pack –her old pack- there was always a small fire in the cave in which they slept in. The fire was a source of heat- and a source of light. A privilege Shadow knew she would not find out here. She shivered.

"Aren't you hungry?" the Absol was foraging for berries in a small tree. One of his front paws was leaned against the tree for balance while the other was scrounging around.

"A little." Shadow went to the tree and picked up a few oran berries from the ground. Just as she was about to eat them Koja swiped them away. Shadow watched aghast as they rolled back into the underbrush of the forest.

"What did you do that for?"

Koja wagged his paw at the Umbreon, "You NEVER EVER eat berries lying on the ground."

"Why not?" This was Shadow's first experience in fending for herself. Normally the adults of the pack would bring back food for them all.

"Only someone like Celebi- the great god may he live forever- would know. I mean, some Rattata could've rolled it around in his mouth before deciding he didn't like it or someone with really dirty paws has trampled n them-"

"Alright, alright! I get it!" Shadow held up her paw.

"Good." Koja threw her a branch of huge fruits, "You can eat those."

"Koja-"

But before she say anymore the Absol was down beside her and was eating one of the fruits- or trying to. He yelped in pain upon discovering that-

"Sitrus Berries are very hard." Shadow wagged her paw at Koja. Even while this was the first time in fending for herself, many fruits and berries had been brought back to the pack for eating. Throughout her life, Shadow had seen and eaten a large variety of them and had by now had some knowledge of them.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" the Absol rubbed his jaw painfully.

"I did try to tell you but you went ahead anyway! You don't just eat Sitrus Berries- you have to crack them open! But- we need something for your jaw now so…"

Shadow turned around and leapt up onto a low branch of a tree nearby

"Now these berries-" The Umbreon snagged loose a fruit from the tree and carefully brought it down, "Are good to eat."

"Are you sure that- that thing is safe to eat?"

Koja eyed the fruit suspiciously. It was big, round and yellow.

"Of course- besides that, it'll relieve the pain in your jaw! It's a Grepa Berry. Try it."

"All right all right!" Koja picked the fruit up with one paw and after analyzing it for several seconds, popped it into his mouth. The Absol's eyes widened and his lips was sucked in together tightly. He made gagging noises for a couple of moments before he let out a deep breath. He glared at Shadow who was trying hard to keep a straight face.

"You knew that would happen- didn't you!" Koja gasped for air, "That- that- was so so SOUR!"

"It turns sweet!" shrugged Shadow, "And the pain in the jaw is gone."

"Revenge will be mine sometime!" threatened Koja, shaking his paw in the air.

"I'll look forward to that." Shadow said sarcastically. The Umbreon then turned around to the Sitrus Berries.

"_1…2…3!"_ Shadow drew a breath concentrated on a single Sitrus berry. Almost suddenly, a dark bolt jumped out of Shadow and split the berry in two.

"Wow- and I thought you said you couldn't watch my back!"

Koja looked awed. Shadow didn't answer to the Absol. She still had her back turned and was shaking.

"Shadow?" Koja ran over. The Umbreon was staring at what she had just done.

"Look it's all right ok? All good alrighty?"

Shadow glanced at him after a few more seconds.

"Yeah I'm alright- I'm sorry. I was just surprised."

The Umbreon started to eat one half of the Sitrus Berry and didn't say a word. Koja followed suit, wolfing down the other one down messily, trying to the taste of the Grepa berry out of his mouth.When they had both finished eating their fill of berries and fruits Shadow dug a small hole in the ground. Koja watched, half interested from under a tree.

Shadow rolled a Sitrus Berry into the hole and carefully covered it up with some more dirt.

"Why for Groundon's sake did you do that? It's a waste!" scolded Koja angrily.

"The priestess of my- I mean a pack I knew taught me to 'return to the lands what you have gotten from it.'"

"What a load of rubbish!" retorted Koja, "It's just a dreadful waste of a berry!"

"It isn't" Shadow shook her head, "A few years later, when the fruits of the tree that we were just eaten from are gone, the berry I have just planted will be another tree for someone like us."

"I guess... But- look, I know this will be weird for you. But you have to go to sleep alright? I know, we're all nocturnal and all but trust me- just go to sleep now. Don't worry about any rabid Pokemon out there since I'm keeping watch."

"Aren't you tired?" questioned Shadow.

"Nah. I woke up quite late today, so I'm alright."

Shadow was more then obliged to comply. She was tired out by the whole day's events. She settled herself near Koja and lay down, head on paws.

"Obedient little thing. I'd thought you'd be hyper! What are in those berries!" Koja glanced to the berry trees.

"Whatever…Goo-good night…." Shadow was asleep.

"Good night Shadow." Whispered the Absol- and he smiled at the sleeping body. Things were going well- things were FINALLY going well.

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Unknown Area- Kanto Region

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"You know I find this Shadow quite interesting," Articuno readjusted her wings into a more comfortable position.

"Interesting?" questioned Zapdos, the God of Thunder, "I think she's far more then just 'interesting'"

"She evolved into something completely different then what we decided." Added Moltres, "She was to become a Vaporeon, but she became a Child of the Night."

"Yes, she is more then just interesting brothers. A wrong statement. But even worse, right after her evolution she killed the Priestess of Evoluton in her pack. Who, was, if I am correct, quite a skilled figh-"

"Killed?" The Fire God looked shocked- and Gods don't get shocked that easily.

"And she is exiled." Finished Articuno.

"This high priestess-" remarked Zapdos, "She will be in the realm of Mew? No? Yes?"

"Do the dead even go the realm of Mew?"

"Who knows? That crazed God doesn't let anyone go there!" snorted Moltres, "Not even the Gods and Goddesses are allowed. Who knows what is in there!"

"Well, it cannot be evil- Mew would never do that." Reasoned Zapdos.

"Let us go back to the original subject and forget for now about Mew's realm." Cried Articuno hasitily. Mew's realm was a sacred place in the heavens where few God's had ever visited. Only Mew came in or out and did not let along in. Her two brothers were more then often debating- or sometimes arguing about this realm. A reason why the world was having what the humans called thunderstorms.

"She has suffered an unfortunate fate. It is very sad and grave. But there is no more we can do for her." Stated Moltres calmly, "Now, that is over. Let us go back to Me-"

"Mew is not evil-whatever reason you have against him. He is not evil brother." Zapdos' eyes flashed and electricity crackled in the air.

"I am not saying he is evil- I am merely saying that he needs a rest from his duties. He is not exactly…Sane- these days." Moltres smiled.

"It is all very well for you to talk about Mew but I doubt he would be very pleased if he found out. And this subject about the Umbreon is not over yet!" snapped Articuno.

"I have already told you sister, the Umbreon is merely a sad twist of fate. We cannot help every Pokemon who faces danger or deep sadness in their life." The Fire God sighed impatiently.

"She could be more then a sad twist of fate, borhter." Zapdos turned to face his brother, "It will not do us any harm to find out more."

"It will cost us time brother!" snapped Moltres, "Have you both forgotten your duties? It is the season of evolution. We are busy enough."

"It will not take us longer then a day, brother!" reasoned Articuno, "Besides, if do not agree with us. At least tell me this- who made the Umbreon when she was an Evee evolve into what she is now? Who has the power to go against our decisions for evolution? Who?"

And there was silence. For Articuno's fiery brother did not know the answer. And neither did his siblings know.

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Ta-da! All done! Now we all know what we have to do.

REVIEW!

(Except for me of course)


	5. Chapter 5: Gods and Saffron City

CLAIMER:I own the whole of Moonlight's Shadow

DISCLAIMER:StarDragon X does not own Pokemon. In fact she doesn't even own **A** Pokemon.

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Moonlight's Shadow

Chapter 5: Gods and Saffron City

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"And I thought you knew the way to Saffron City!"

"Well I do…" came the reply but the Absol quickly looked left and right, as if to find a new 'way' to Saffron City.

Our two travelers were currently on their way to Saffron City but were taking quite a time to do it- in other words they were lost. Lost in a forest where both knew no Pokemon who might help them, let alone even speak to them.

Shadow pointed her left ear at a boulder next to a tree, "We've past that rock before! We are definitely lost Koja!"

The Absol turned his head to the boulder, "So that's why it looked familiar…"

"Why did you tell me you knew the way!" Shadow sighed in frustration and rubbed her forehead with one paw.

"I thought I knew the way- but I obviously don't!" Koja smiled innocently at the Umbreon but was returned with a piercing glare- his smile disappeared. After a few moments Shadow dropped her glare, and sighed again before using her eyes to scan the surroundings.

"Whattodonow, whattodonow, whattodonow…"murmured Koja to himself. He had actually been pretty sure he knew the way- but that was last night, "Oh, whattodo, whattodo, whattodonow!"

"Ask for directions."

"What?" Koja shook his head furiously, "I know no one here- you know no one here. Who's going to help two Dark Pokemon who should be sleeping at this time of day! Doesn't that look suspicious to you?"

"No." Shadow hailed at Taillow flying overhead, "Hello! Good day? Could you extract a portion of your precious time to help us?"

The Taillow looked down at Shadow, and paused in the air, his wings flapping every now and then to keep him aloft. There was silence for a bit as the Taillow contemplated on what to do. He was quite young, not as old as them.

"Well-" the Bird Pokemon smiled slowly at the two, "I suppose I might help you two of course even though I don't know you and I've never ever seen you before and all that yaddy waddy yadda stuff!"

The Taillow smiled at them again. Koja swallowed. Taillows weren't known for their intelligence but he didn't like that smile…There was something wrong with it- it was creepy.

"He's just being friendly…Don't be paranoid…" Shadow rolled her eyes at her companion after reading his facial features- it was just a smile for Latinas' sake! Besides- how evil and devious could this little-little thing… be? If anything the Taillow looked more cute and innocent then some kind of doomsday freak.

"Whatever…" Koja watched the Bird Pokemon warily as if he expected him to knock them both unconscious at any moment.

"Where are you heading?" The Taillow swooped down to land on a tree branch.

"A human pack gro-" Shadow paused briefly. Not pack grounds…" A human pack city. We're heading for a human city-it's called Saffron City. Home of psychics. Have you heard of it?"

The Taillow clicked his beak in thought before answering in a torrent of words, "Ah… Oh yes! Yes, I have! It's where they have those tall shiny things right? And when you go there during the day time it's really shiny but in the night it doesn't get so shiny and instead all these different shiny colors suddenly show up and it's so bright you can't even see the stars and the shiny things are so shiny and-"

Shadow glanced at Koja questioningly.

"Shiny?" retorted Koja, "I suppose they are shiny but seriously…- But yes, that would be the place."

"So-so anyway you guys want to this Saffron City place that's really shiny and a lot of things that are really tall-"

"Ah- Yes…" Shadow interrupted quickly. She didn't mean to intervene like that- but she felt if she just listened and being really polite they'd be there for… A few years probably.

"Oh yes so anyway you want directions right-" The Taillow paused for a millisecond before continuing, "Yes of course you and follow this path thing and you get to Saffron City or that human pack city and in fact I shouldn't even be speaking to you two because you're strangers and of course you never talk to strangers don't you agree so it'd be a most sensible thing if I just left of course and you'd be al-"

Koja growled and fainted in and out to be right next to the Taillow. Before the Bird Pokemon had time to react the Absol had his paw around the Tailow's body. The tree branch creaked slightly from the weight of Koja but he ignored it.

"And you were saying?"

Koja smiled sweetly at the Taillow.

The Taillow grinned, almost mimicking the smile that Koja had given him, "Oh nothing- I just thought you too were so wonderful and nice to me and benevelont and that you are handsome are your Umbreon friend over there is indeed beautiful and I can't think of a better greater magnificent pair of dark Pokemon-"

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said. Now tell us- where is the city?"

"There-" The Taillow pointed with one of his wings to a well-worn and quite hidden path," it's actually quite a big beautiful city and you two can find loads of food here much more then this mere puny forest in fact you shouldn't even come back to this forest it's so puny-"

"Thanks." Koja released his hold and gazed at the path that he and Shadow had been directed to follow. It was definitely a well used path though it was hid by a huge rock and a few bushes. The Taillow who had given them their directions had by now was flapping his wings furiously, trying to get as far from them as possible.

Though Shadow couldn't be sure, her keen ears picked up what she thought sounded like…laughing. And it was coming from that that Taillow. It wasn't really a laugh, more of some weird disorientated squawks that may have been a Taillow's version of a maniacal laugh. But then, maybe it was her imagination. She shrugged. The Umbreon glanced at Koja who was smiling smugly at her.

"That's how you ask for directions." Extra emphasis was put on the word that's and Koja patted Shadow on the head.

"Whatever- let's go already." The Umbreon bounded onto the path and glanced back at the Absol, waiting for him.

Koja as if in reply leaped into the underbrush and took the lead and Shadow followed closely behind. The growth of plants and trees was much thicker here and you could hardly see the small path that was covered by shrubbery. A few caterpies, weedles, and whatever bug-like Pokemon wandered here and there, sometimes crawling across the path.

Shadow might've talked to them- but that was only a might. Not many Pokemon would sink that low really- if anyone saw you talking to a Caterpie they would think you were insane. Caterpies were more like babies and weren't in what you call the 'smart category' of Pokemon- they could only say a few words, more like grunting actually. So you might now understand why the Umbreon just ignored them like they were part of the environment. But the reader probably doesn't want to get stuck with reading some Poke-ology and getting bored stiff so…

Shadow sighed, remembering the babbling Taillow who'd given them directions.

"How did he speak so fast…" muttered the Umbreon, shaking her hood in disbelief.

"Well, it's probably his special blessing from the Gods- the only blessing I'd say." The Absol snickered, "Or maybe that was more of a curse."

The Umbreon nearly stopped in mid step before she recovered quickly and grinned slowly.

"_Curse…Curse…Curse…Curse!"_

The words seemed to echo softly in her mind.

"_Curse…Curse…Cur-"_

"Wait! Wait! Stwop!" An urgent voice screeched, making both Pokemon snap out of their thoughts and turn their heads. Shadow swallowed at the sight. The Taillow who had given directions earlier on was now seen hanging by the scruff of his neck off a larger Taillow's beak. The new Taillow, was much larger and seemed to the previous' Taillow's mother.

."Good! You've finally stopped at last so now I can talk to you about my son!"

The Taillow released her hold on her son, who immediately fell onto the ground- he shrank with fear upon seeing the faces of Koja and Shadow up close.

"Now excuse me you two but am I right to say that this Taillow-" she jabbed the Taillow on the ground who was cowering and whimpering with fear, "gave you directions to the human city otherwise known by humans as Saffron City and that he directed you both to follow this path which will lead you to certain doom because of this,"

She jabbed the Taillow again, "Taillow?"

Shadow swallowed hardly, "Um- yes. I think…"

Koja nodded, "Yes he-"

But before the Absol could say anymore the Taillow who had previously spoken spoke again, "Well then that settles it my fledgling here gave you wrong directions which means that's taking you basically the opposite direction of Saffron City which is not good at all so the direct way to Saffron City the human city the most dirrectest dirrectest way is to head towards the sun." The Taillow pointed with her wing.

"Thank y-" Shadow was cut off by another stream of words.

"You're welcome darling but now you must hurry on otherwise you will not make it to the city before sundown and that's very bad because I don't like the dark and nobody likes the dark but then dark Pokemon like the dark so that's alright but anyway goodbye and hurry on while I need to have a few words with my son and I'm sorry about all this with my deepest apologies."

"Right." Koja watched a little stunned as the Mother Taillow picked up her son by the scruff of his neck and set off flying. The Taillow in fact flew so fast that it was lest then a few seconds before she and her son were out of sight.

The two Pokemon glanced at each other before shrugging and setting off a slow lope, turned and ran towards the sun. Unlike the path that they had been traveling on before, there was no path to guide them through the forest. Bushes and weeds that had grown into monstrous sizes due to years of growth blocked their way and more then once Shadow winced upon feeling some prickles from a bush dig into her fur. That would be uncomfortable to pick out later.

Koja glanced nervously at a Heracross who glared at him from a tree. The Absol kept running though he knew what the Heracross knew. The Absol glanced down at his forelegs ashamed and angry. His cheeks were tinged red and when he glanced at Shadow he had some relief. The Heracross had also glared at the Umbreon behind him.

Shadow tried to ignore the stare or rather the glower from the Heracross who clung to the wide trunk of a tree and kept looking at her. He didn't say anything nor did he move and was quite an eerie sight. Both Pokemon picked up the pace and soon the Heracross was far behind them. Running through the forest, Shadow noticed a few cold glances or looks from the Pokemon who saw them and did not choose to ignore them. But that was expected- she was an outcast, someone who you didn't smile at or greeted. No one associated with an outcast- but… Shadow fixed her eyes on the Absol ahead of her.

Koja wasn't exiled or an outcast. There was no reason to glare at him or turn their heads away from him like they did with Shadow. Maybe they associated him with her- Shadow ducked her head down, upset. Her misfortune shouldn't have affected him to be treated like an outcast- was she really a curse? But then… Koja had too many secrets for her to be sure of anything about him.

The Absol said he was wanderer- but he was only two years old…A little young. Most Absols lived in the mountains and wandered there- not here in the forest of the plains or in human cities. He sometimes evaded or didn't really answer certain questions. He had practically barged right up to her unfazed and a total stranger- today they were traveling companions. Like what she thought when she first met him- what was up with this guy?

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Saffron City looked magnificent. Standing on a hilltop and viewing the gleaming skyscrapers that the humans had built- both Pokemon were in silent awe. Quite long ago had Shadow and Koja left the huge forest where they had been given wrong directions and somewhere, near a slow-flowing river was where Shadow's pack now was. Or rather where the White Paw Pack now resided- definitely not Shadow's pack.

The human city was set aglow in the rapidly setting sun by neon sign boards and bright electric lights that seemed to come from almost everywhere in the city. But there was no more time to think- Shadow quickly scurried after Koja who was already half way down the hill and heading towards the city's outskirts. The Umbreon half tumbled down the hill and skidded to a halt at the base.

Before her was a wide thick black line. She had no idea what it was but before she could ask Koja what it was a pair of flying yellow eyes seemed to appear out of nowhere and was now speeding rapidly to her. Koja had ignored the yellow eyes that was almost upon him and ran right across the black line. For a spilt second Shadow felt a gush of wind past her and when she looked around her, the eerie yellow eyes had disappeared. What kind of Pokemon was that?

Across the line, Koja was standing there, waiting impatiently for her to come across the line. He stood there unhurt and not at all shocked or scared- in fact he seemed to have not noticed that floating pair of eyes. Warily and gingerly, Shadow touched the black line with one paw- it was solid and felt like rock. The Umbreon, bounded across the road, heart beating fast. What would happen to her if she crossed that line?

Nothing. She sighed in relief and glanced at Koja who seemed to be…laughing at her.

"What?" asked Shadow indignant and puzzled.

"Well…Let me see- that floating pair of eyes that freaked you out was a mechanicalised ponyta that the humans use to travel about anywhere and that thing you just crossed is a road specifically for the mechanicalised ponyta."

"Oh." What else was she supposed to say?

"Yep, you have a lot to learn about humans."

Koja shut Shadow's open mouth at a passing human with the back of his paw. Before Shadow had anymore time to take in her surroundings she forced her self to bound towards Koja who was again rapidly disappearing around a corner. Sometimes showing up in the somewhat dim light of the street lamps, Shadow picked up the pace- it would not do to get herself lost in an unknown territory at night.

She found the Absol gazing in at some humans and Pokemon who were eating. Koja was half drooling and his paws were up against the window sill of the restaurant. The smell was delicious; the food looked heavenly…but- Shadow smacked her nose against the glass of the window and fell back, looking shocked and dazed. She had just had her first encounter with a window.

"Invisible force fields- probably made be psychic Pokemon," Koja explained as he left the window and walked off, "Nothing serious."

Rubbing her hurt nose, Shadow followed Koja around another corner. This time there was no street lamp to give light, and the light from the restaurant window seemed so far away. Here, even though the Umbreon could see her companion, she still felt the darkness of night wrap around her in a type of suffocating effect. Shadow shook her head; it was all in her mind these thoughts. Pretty soon she'd be mental, if she'd kept agreeing and thinking about all this…

Koja dug into a trashcan. Human food may not have been healthy or hygienic and was probably a bit hazardous to health as it came from a trashcan but- who'd want to be one of those crazy health freaks when you'd tasted trashcan trash? It didn't even sound or look appetizing but it tasted divine – Koja was half into the trashcan by now, rummaging around for some of the finer and maybe more delicious food scraps.

Shadow on the other hand looked absolutely revolted.

"Mwat?" Koja was stuffing his face, crumbs and goodness knows what other things spraying everywhere.

"H-how can you eat…"Shadow paused, "That…that…rubbish?"

"Very simple- you just pop it into your mouth and work your jaws like so." The Absol stuffed a bun into a mouth and slowly demonstrated how he 'ate that rubbish'.

Any respect the Umbreon had for Koja vanished and she stared.

"I'z rude to st're y'know."

Shadow broke the stare and trotted gingerly over to the trashcan and peered in. She wanted to vomit. She had no idea what any of those foods where and they didn't seem to encourage her appetite. Some of the food seemed to be mushy and she didn't even what why her paws where feeling sticky. The Umbreon turned away from the sight.

She was not going to eat out of that thing. She would starve before she would succumb to that junk! After a few more rants and promises to herself about not touching the trashcan trash which the author won't bother to describe…. A light suddenly came on in the alleyway- or rather a door opened, and the light from inside the house flooded out.

Shadow smiled as she felt the light chase some of the shadows of her- Koja scooted farther into the darkness and continued eating. The human who opened the door was an old human and was dressed in a blue dressing gown and nightcap. The human put tossed a small bag into a box before turning around to-

"STOP!" Shadow flung herself into the light and ran to the human. ANYTHING had to be better then toughing it out here in the streets. It smelled horrible, it looked horrible, and it felt horrible! How did she ever imagine that Saffron City was magnificent?

The elderly lady looked surprised as she saw a stray Umbreon run towards her. Normally they ran away from her. But the Umbreon looked innocent enough and…the human bent down and smiled. The stray would have a bed and food for one night at least.

Shadow smiled as the human led her into the light filled house.

"OI! OI! WE'VE CAM THIS FAR WE CAN'T S'OP NOW!" Koja shook his paw at her forcefully, "HWUMANS ARE DANGEROUS AND-AND IF YOU STEP ONE STEP FURTHER I'LL GIT OOO!"

But if that was a threat, it was ignored as the door was shut and Koja was left alone. Koja sighed and shook his head.

"I'll have to go and get her before they kill her and make her they're eternal slave and do weird things with her-"

He tossed a half eaten apple into his mouth and shrugged, "I'll get her tomorrow."

------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile…

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Thunder roared across the sky though there were no clouds. A yellow haze appeared for a split second, before disappearing, then appearing, and disappearing again across the horizon. Imagination perhaps, or maybe a trick of the light, or even a mirage form the summer heat was what some would say and think no more of it. But Zapdos knew better. That was Raikou- god of Thunder.

Moving so fast that he was only seen as a yellow blue across the sky, the Lightning God chased after Raikou. He was not as fast his fellow god, but was still speedy. Pressing himself to be faster, the god pierced through the air and soon was behind Raikou. The Thunder God looked behind him without even breaking pace.

"Greetings." Raikou nodded quickly and lessened his pace to that of Zapdos'.

"Greetings also." Zapdos replied, "Do you know of the Evee Ritual of Summoning?"

"Of course… But that is not what you've come to tell me, is it?"

"No." Zapdos flapped quickly again, as he fell behind a little, "There is a miss-evolution. "

There was no answer but a small nod to confirm that Raikou had heard the last statement.

"The miss-evolved Evee is now an outcast, murderer, powerful one. Who is the deity of the dark?"

"There is none and I know nothing of what Mew keeps inside his realm and I do not want to find out."

Raikou managed a small smile, knowing that was the next question.

"Mew is not of great importance in this matter- it is apparently the miss-evolved Evee that is the matter."

"Why do you ask about the Deity of the Dark? Did the Evee evolve into-"

"Yes. And she is more powerful that she should be. Much more powerful."

"I have no information on that type of thing. But you should know that there is something strange happening."

"What?"

"The shadows are rising, my friend. Shifty things that even Celebi has no idea of happen. An outcast here, a sudden burst of rage that turns a peaceful Pokemon to be an assassin. The world may seem peaceful but evil is being done in the shadows. The shadows are rising."

"Then why isn't there more talk of this. Why have you not told the others?" Zapdos demanded.

"Because I am investigating it- Elemental. Fear will spread if this is not kept quiet. There is no need to cause fear - it causes havoc."

* * *

Yarharharhar…. This took forever…. And I still have to do 7 more chapters to get this story back on track…Sigh. This story is never going to get a move on is it? Ah well. I guess it's good for me.

-StarDragon X


	6. Chapter 6: Temporarily Owned

Arg. I have had a severe case of writer's block but that's what you care about do you? You just want to read the story. Sniffles… Sniffly-diffly-doo.

**DISCLAIMER:**I don't own Pokemon

**CLAIMER:**I own this

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow

Chapter 6: Temporarily Owned

* * *

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Next Morning- Koja

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Koja groaned and rolled over as much as he could in the confined sleeping space of the trashcan. How he ever managed to empty that trashcan was still a mystery to him. Tumbling out in a clumsy heap, the Absol stretched and rubbed his eyes. Blasted sunlight. Why did it have to shine so bright? Muttering a curse, Koja sleepily looked around the alley. You could describe it as clean-free with all the grime that seemed to be everywhere.

Though most humans liked to believe in a clean and pretty world, they were all hypocrites. The state of the alleyway wasn't even able to compare with the wild beauty of the wilds. He didn't see why the humans had to ruin the world by deciding to make the skies black with smoke, killing Pokemon, and destroying the anything beautiful in the world by somehow making it pretty by the human standards.

Sighing, Koja reverted back to the real word and out of his thoughts. Glancing at a puddle of murky water in the drain, Koja winced as he saw the reflection of him in the brown water.

Bits of food stuck to his fur in different places and his fur was brown- not white but brown. Using the reflection as a crude mirror the Absol proceeded to quickly tidy up his appearance. He wasn't a stickler for cleanliness but on the other hand he didn't want to look as revolting as he did now. But however he tried after removing the food on him, Koja couldn't get rid of his brown fur and dirt that clung to him. OR that smell that seemed to come from his fur.

Shadow… Where was she...? Suddenly, he remembered. With an extremely slow turn of his head, Koja stared at a door. The door which Shadow had entered last night and had since then had never been seen. Walking up to the door, he leapt up and smacked a small button on the wall with his right paw. Whether, it was by some type of psychic power or human contraption, whenever a button like that was pressed, a door normally opened.

Using that theory, Koja sat down and waited for the door to open. His ears picked up the faint sound of chimes. But he ignored that- it was probably his imagination. But then why did his imagination always conjure the sound of chimes every time he pressed buttons like these? But Koja decided to ignore that and had a new train of thought concerning Shadow.

He definitely had to get that Umbreon out now, before that human fully bewitched her.

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Next Morning- Somewhere Else

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The morning sun rose higher and higher, causing the shadows on the rocks to disappear. A young Spheal was lying on the rocks, drinking in the heat. The rocks were huge; you could almost consider them an island. But something disturbed the peaceful silence- for a split second. For a split second, you could hear a rock cracking open then closing back together again. But of course the Spheal who barely noticed it soon forgot about it other then the fact that he somehow received an…electric shock- while he was in the middle of the ocean. But the Spheal ignored that and continued to bask in the sun.

But if the Spheal had been more curious and gone to investigate the rock where he had heard it cracking and closing back together again, he would've found a thin crack. And if the Spheal decided to be really curious and peeked inside he would've fainted. But if the Spheal had not fainted he would see this before him.

Even in a rock this large, you just wouldn't. You just wouldn't expect to see the Elemental Gods huddled inside. In some type of sense, it didn't make sense. You would've expected that with such great powers coming in exceedingly close proximity with each other that the rock would blow up. But the rock didn't blow up for some reason.

But the Gods and Goddess inside were not pondering that matter. They pondered another matter.

"You are finally here brother. What took you?" the Lord of Flames, Moltres asked. The voice sounded impatiently, nearly irritated.

"Raikou was fast- very fast. And he didn't stop to talk."

"What did you find out?" the voice of Articuno softly echoed around the rock walls.

"Nothing. Other then shifty things going on under our beaks."

"That means that Raikou is paranoid. And if you believe him too, you are also paranoid…" retorted Moltres.

"You may be wrong. I too have felt a strange feeling…" Articuno trailed off as if trying to put words together, "That what I see isn't what is really happening. It's like a black mask is covering our eyes."

Zapdos nodded in agreement, "Similar to my feelings."

"Paranoid! You're both paranoid after that miss-evulotion with that Evee! If you both have this strange feeling…" Moltres snorted, "Then why have not I felt it?"

"Maybe you are blind and unobservant to it brother." supplied Zapdos all too helpfully.

"I am probably more observant then both of you put together."

"Maybe so…" intervened Articuno hastily, "But Moltres- you or we may be right or wrong. But since a few other gods think similar to us, why not humor us and spend a little time into this matter?"

"A little time?" the God of Fire retorted, "It will take eternity. For many deities, this is the busiest time of the year. We have our commitments! I have my commitments. You can't just go through heaven and hell for one creature sister! Be sensible."

"Then how about all our unanswered questions?" challenged Zapdos, "Can you answer them?"

"No I cannot," replied Moltres hotly, "But who knows everything in this world? No one."

There was silence then. But not for long.

"All right, I will do it! I'll help you search into this matter." Said the Fire Deity, exasperated, "And in the end I'll prove that all this is really just paranoia."

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Next Morning- Shadow

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Rousing from her slumber and opening her eyes, Shadow suddenly bolted up in fright. Where was she? What was she standing on? So soft… so comfortable… The Umbreon lay down again and snuggled into the blankets as she remembered.

She was in the human's den. The human, opposite of what Koja had told her, had not bewitched her but welcomed her with open arms. For the first time in her life, the Umbreon had experienced a huge amount of care and love. Not that she hadn't experienced love and care- if she hadn't even had an inkling of love and care from Akara, Winterchill, and other members of her old pack she'd probably be some kind of clam.

But that didn't still stop the new feeling she had- a somewhat shock and awe that someone would actually want to groom her, feed her, give her access to the best places in the den, and not expect anything in return. Shadow gazed quietly at the human who was sleeping in a rocking chair nearby.

The fire in the fireplace had been long ago reduced to ash and the morning sun pouring through the window was the only source of warmth- which was actually pretty warm. The human who had somehow shown this much affection to Shadow seemed to be old…

Very old. The human had grey-whitish hair that was coiled up into some sort of bun and had wrinkles. Many wrinkles. The last thing noticeable or even rather weird and uncanny was the thing that seemed to cover most of the human's body.

It was blue in color with white frills on the edges. The Umbreon was trying to discern whether the thing was actually the human's fur or some type of skin mutation. Best not to think about it. Shadow shuddered and turned her attention back to-

Some type of chimes? The black furred Pokemon glanced at the direction from which the sound came from. The human apparently had heard the chimes too and had woken up with a jump.

Almost running to the door, the human opened it a crack and peeked out suspiciously. What kind of person or thing called in at around 10 am? But then maybe that was one of her eccentrics.

"Eh?" the human fully opened the door, letting Shadow see the visitor. It was a very, very filthy, disgusting, odorous, repulsive Absol. The Umbreon held her breath and took a step back.

Close the door! That was probably the thought that both creatures had when they saw and smelled the sight. The human was actually closing the thick wooden door when… The Absol stuck his head out indignantly and half rammed the door open again.

"Excuse me?"

There was something so very familiar about that voice… Shadow cringed visibly. It was Koja. Except is just couldn't possibly be Koja… But it was.

"Hi…" droned Shadow very unenthusiastically.

What happened to him? His fur wasn't even white! Shadow looked up at the human who was standing frozen. She appeared to be having a battle inside her head on whether to shut the dirt-ridden Pokemon out or let him in.

"Hurry up Shadow! Before she closes the door again. Don't just stand there?"

"Um... Koja, I've got no idea what you're talking about. From what I gather, I spent one night with her, while you spent one night in the streets, and guess who turns out better?"

Shadow gazed pointedly at the Absol. He scowled.

"Well, at least I'm not brain washed! She's already led you into believing that she's good!"

"What?"

"Just get out of there! In all frankness Shadow, humans are a disgusting race that should be wiped of the face of this world by the Gods."

The Umbreon stood there, frozen, like the human, having a battle in her head. Trust Koja or the human? She'd known the Absol for longer but what he'd just said seemed like complete and utter nonsense.

But she didn't have to decide because the human did. With a small smile, the lady pushed the Absol in with a flick in her hand and closed the door. Unfortunately, Koja took this the wrong way and went running helter-skelter.

"Now we're trapped in here!" Koja cursed with a mixture of anger and fear, "Didn't you hear me?"

Shadow looked shocked at her travel companion. She had no idea he had THIS type of paranoia. It was worse then hers. WAY worse. What happened to the more dignified, knowledgeable, and half-respectable Koja that she knew?

----------------------------------------

"NOOOOOOOO! Keep that infernal thing off of me human! OFF!"

Koja was wildly struggling against the human, the elderly lady grimly scrubbing Koja. Water from the small bath that the Absol was in splashed onto Shadow who was standing nearby.

"Just stay still will you?" The old lady attacked Koja with a soap bar.

Shadow sighed as she surveyed the room. Somehow, she had managed to trap Koja after he ran helter-skelter everywhere and forced him into a bath. All that resulted with the Absol kicking and shouting.

Seriously. What was up with him? Shadow shook her head sadly and surveyed the disaster the Absol had made when he had first entered the house. Thanks to Koja running amok and being terrified there were muddy paw prints everywhere, food and filth on the furniture, and this strange type of smell. Disaster. Shadow allowed herself a small chuckle.

It was well known that Absols were the 'disaster Pokemon'. Why? Few knew. Some said they caused disasters, others said they came warning people of a disaster. Disaster…Shadow froze. She would've brought the disaster…

After all, so many in her old pack said she was a curse… She had to be the one. The curse. Right? That's why she was exiled, shunned, the runt of the pack… It seemed so right but somehow at the same time so dreadfully wrong.

"Finally!"

Shadow snapped her head to the direction of the voice. Koja had jumped out of the bath gladly. He was no more or less clean but he still seemed to be in some sort of frenzy. The human didn't help either.

The human was brandishing a towel in her hand and running after the Absol- who was of course once again running helter-skelter.

"We need OUT Shadow!" demanded Koja, "Where's the exit? Oh wait there it-"

The Absol tripped over a bar of soap near the bath, and skidded all the way to the front door. But at this exact moment, the door opened and Koja was knocked his head on the wall and fell unconscious.

The person who had opened the door looked very disturbed.

"Not again Grandma…." The human groaned, shutting the door with a small slam, "Look! You don't have to exactly bring in every single stray Pokemon out there!"

The newcomer was definitely human and female with light brown hair coming from the human's head. The hair was tied into a ponytail and a belt hung around the human's waist with several red and white spheres attached to it. The human was also wearing a backpack and a houndour was sitting beside her.

Shadow cocked her head. What was wrong with the Pokemon? The houndour was sitting besides the human looking very faithful though a bit disturbed to find a strange Absol right in front of him unconscious. The houndour was faithful- too faithful. HE was even older then her- 3 years? 2 and a half years? Disgraceful for him to behave like that.

The old lady, who was apparently this new human's grandmother, gave a sniffle.

"I just couldn't very well leave them out there in the cold could I?" demanded the woman, "Besides it was only one. That Absol came this morning."

"Grandma! The last time I saw you there was a huge infestation of Rattatas in this house!"

"Lower your voice Sami. And it was not for goodness sakes an infestation of Rattatas. Infestation my word!"

"Seemed like it…" muttered Sami.

The human sighed as she surveyed the damage. Rushing madly everywhere, the teenager sped everywhere in a rush, righting furniture, scrubbing furiously at mud and food stains, chucking cushions to their proper positions, poking Koja in an effort to wake him up and doing numerous other things that fell into the category of cleaning- or maybe insanity would be closer.

"Samantha Susan Atwane!" the words though not shouted were spoken with considerable force and loudness.

Sami skidded to a halt, Koja dangling in her arms.

"Put that poor Absol down and please! Behave yourself!" ordered the lady.

A soft thump was heard as Koja was dropped to the ground and woken up.

"Ow… What in the-" The Absol jumped up and tensed, ready for battle upon seeing the houndour.

The houndour as if in a reply growled, brandished his teeth and stepped towards Koja.

"You might not last long-" The houndour grinned, "kid."

"We'll just see about that." Muttered Koja.

Shadow shook her head, quite confused. There was one Koja absolutely paranoid and frenzied. Another Koja was the cool and more dignified one… Which was up with him? In an instant, Shadow felt herself zap out and in of her earthly world. She ended up between the two baring and snapping Pokemon.

"Please! Stop will you! The fight will be meaningless."

Shadow fixed her cold blue eyes on both of them, causing the predicted effect. Two Pokemon standing stock still as if she had frozen them.

"Oi! You!"

Sami waved her hand at Shadow and cocked her head down low enough so that human and Umbreon faced eye to eye. Immediately the teen saw why her houndour was standing so still.

"Ah- cut it out?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Shadow averted her eyes quickly.

"So…." Sami's Grandmother, aka the human who gave Shadow a home for a night, sighed, "What ARE you doing here? Aren't you a day early?"

"Yeah I know, but I wanted to see my grandma sooo much I came a day early!" Sami grinned and tried to look truthful and angelic. Sadly it didn't work.

"Seriously."

"Ok, ok! I'm here mainly to get the Marsh Badge. I also heard that there a great Pokemon around this area. Good against Psychic Pokemon like the ones the Gymleader has. But…"

Sami looked hopefully at Shadow and Koja. Koja glared, growled and snapped at her. Shadow had no idea whatsoever of what the human was talking about.

"Ask them, not me. Do your funny thing with understanding Pokespeech." Said her grandmother shrugging.

"I suppose… So ah-"

The human massaged her eyebrow trying to figure out how to start. Fortunately the houndour did it for her.

"Hello… This very obscure and strange human-" which at this point the houndour received a swat on his head but it did not deter him, "As I was saying this obscure and strange human would like you to fight for her. This is a perfect way to repay the old woman who so kindly gave you shelter and food for a night."

The houndour's voice was lazy and bored as he added, "That same human also knows Pokespeech because she learned it from a Slowking up in the mountains. You were probably going to ask that weren't you? And my name's Inferno if you didn't want or wanted to know."

After that, Inferno trotted off to a couch and flopped down on it, watching the rest with one eye open.

"Right. Thank you very much for trying to endanger our lives but I think we would both go right now." Koja's voice was laced with sarcasm and he narrowed his eyes.

Shadow blinked. This was starting to get very strange. She didn't feel very endangered right now…

"What?" exclaimed Sami, "How am I endangering you? I am simply offering you a chance to repay your debt to my grandmother."

"I don't owe anything to you." Koja said coolly.

"I'm in debt. So I'll go with you even though I don't understand much of what I'm meant to do."

Shadow shrugged. The trainer seemed trustworthy enough, and at the moment, Koja's opinion on anything was too strange and weird for her to agree.

"Shadow. We are not going to go with this…hag." The words were said slowly and forcefully.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say!" Sami's words were said just as slowly and forcefully but a lot less calmly.

"Hag. You are a hag. Shadow get out. That hag standing there is going to put you inside a ball, torture you, work you from sunup to sundown, and basically make you wish you never were alive."

This was new. But then, quite a lot of times in her live did Shadow feel that she wished she was never alive. She was a curse. No denying it. But Koja's words… They echoed through her mind.

"Run Shadow. Now. We have to go."

"WHAT IN THE FU-"

The trainer paused.

"Language. Can't have that word. Now where were we? Oh yeah. I am completely at a loss at what you're saying but I don't care. If you come and fight one battle for me I will teach you something very useful."

The Absol's ears perked up.

"Humans cannot be trusted." The words sounded practiced, memorized.

"Humans can be trusted. How am I going to torture you if I don't put you in a Pokeball? I can't. Look…It's really pretty!"

The human held out a small metallic blue box, trying to look invitive. Koja snorted though Shadow saw his eyes glance quickly, almost hungrily at the box before turning away.

"It's a square blue object. How is that pretty? But…I'll…I'll do it."

"Great, come here."

"What IS that…?"

How was it that that small blue thing convinced Koja to help?

"It's a TM. Technical Machine." Inferno's eyes gazed longingly at the box, "It's a learning contraption basically. You can learn different abilities and powers from those boxes. They're extremely powerful…"

Koja gingerly stepped forward and stood warily in front t of the red-haired human.

"Aerial Ace. Here we go…"

Opening the case, a shimmery blue light seemed to fall out of it and sink into Koja's horn.

"That's… It?" The Umbreon shook her head. Humans were strange. Very strange.

"You call this it?"

In a matter of milliseconds the Absol had swooped into the air and came down on Shadow so that now, he was kind of… Standing on Shadow.

"Oh…" The Umbreon pushed her companion off and stood up.

"Teatime!" Sami's Grandmother bustled in with a tray of cookies on a plate, "Since I couldn't understand this whole funny conversation I took the liberty of getting this ready!"

Sami's face lit up.

"Grandma! You actually learned to bake! And you're cookies actually taste good!"

Shadow swiped one off the plate and tossed it into her mouth. Immediately she understood why Inferno was cramming 2 in his mouth. They were a slice of heaven. It was this sweet sticky substance in it…

"I haven't had chocolate in AGES!" mumbled Koja as he sank his teeth into one.

Chocolate. Delicious. And the Umbreon took another cookie.

"Oh. Grandma…"

"Yes Dearie?" The woman untied her apron strings and tossed onto a chair.

"What are these black…things doing on the plate?"

Sami's smiled faltered as the teenager gestured to black round objects sitting on the plate.

"That's my baking dear! Don't you like them? The others are store bought. Tastes like rubbish compared to my ones don't you think?"

"Inferno will agree with you Grandma. He always liked Lava Cookies. Yours is just a more…burnt version of it."

Sami sighed as she chucked on of the black objects to Inferno. Surveying some of the mess that had still remained in the living room she suddenly glared at Shadow and Koja.

"So…Which one of you two did this…Disaster?"

* * *

Wheee... All done. I have a feeling that with all this editing business going on that my chapters are somehow getting longer. Oh well. It's for the better.

-StarDragon X


	7. Chapter 7: A Show of Skills Part 1

CHAPTER 7! YAY! I have… 5 more chapters to go till this revision thing is done! Whee! So happy!

**DISCLAIMER:** Pokemon is owned by someone. That someone is not me.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 7:

A Show of Skills- Part 1

* * *

Usually when it is five o'clock in the morning children are tucked up and fast asleep in bed. Usually Pokemon are snoring their heads off at 5am in the morning. But unusually Sami Atwane was wide awake- but of course she wasn't exactly a 'child'. She was in the category of what most people like to call 'the age when you have incredible mood swings and literally live like a complete lunatic'.

"Closed." Koja stared at the human beside him. The Absol re-read the sign on the gym door, "Closed."

There was a brief moment of silence as the weary Absol stared. He had gone to bed at midnight. He had gotten up before dawn. He was standing beside the craziest human on earth. Obviously the gods did not have any pity on him today.

"Closed. You made us get up at an inane hour to walk over to a gym to challenge another human and we all find out that this building is currently in the state of being closed."

Even Inferno was now glaring daggers at his trainer- that is, he tried to. Being so tired, from staying up late and waking up early, the houndour was struggling to keep his gaze poisonous.

But, Shadow was perky. Well she wasn't exactly perky, but she was more awake then her fellow Pokemon companions. Unlike Koja and Inferno, she was not one who enjoyed prancing around at late hours of the night when it became dark. So she fell asleep in front of the fire while the other two went on a double high after eating all the chocolate chip cookies. A double high because one, most dark Pokemon were on a high in the middle of the night, and two, logically, after eating a dozen or so chocolate chip cookies each, both Pokemon could not restrain themselves from being on a high. Fortunately Shadow was unlike them and did not degrade her reputation by being on a double high.

Sami glanced quizzically at Shadow. She knew that the other two were probably tired and therefore crankier but Shadow… Strangely, the Umbreon had simply curled up in front of the fire last night and dozed off while the other two ran around like the lunatics they were. The teenager rummaged a hand through her hair and shook her head. She wasn't exactly a Pokemon expert but Sami knew that with her shocking blue eyes and strange personality traits, Shadow probably had some secrets that were probably left better unrevealed.

Shadow blinked as she stared at the sign. She of course, had no idea what everyone was going on about. It was closed. Yes, the door was definitely closed. It didn't take an Alakazam or some genius to figure that out. It was really quite…amusing. Shadow struggled to keep from laughing as she surveyed the scene. Inferno glaring daggers at Sami; Sami looking very nervous and sheepish, and Koja staring dully at the sign on the door. And this was all because of a sign that said, 'Closed'. Humans were really strange.

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Ruins of Alph, Johto Region

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The ruins were old. And even to the Gods, they were a strange and mysterious place to visit. The Unown seemed to have no voice, no mind… But, Articuno gazed into the darkness. She and her siblings were not leaving without some answers.

Zapdos, to the left of her, was already glowing brightly, acting as a walking lamp to light up the darkness. The Ice Goddess shivered suddenly as she felt something brush past her, touch her with a sense of resounding evil. She glanced at her brothers to see if it was one of them who brushed her, but they were standing a few meters apart.

A metallic sound echoed softly throughout the ruin, and suddenly, the Unown were everywhere. Their black eyes seemed to have a tiny emotion. It seemed to be that they were terrified. Moltres gazed around him, trying to discern what was happening. The Unown seemed to battle, but it was strange… Strange to for once be left on the sidelines, powerless to help or fight.

It was feeling that was alien to the three of them. It was feeling that meant nothing good. But thankfully, the thing that had been in the ruin, seemed to vanish, and the Unown seemed to rearrange themselves. Symbol after symbol, row after row. Silence after silence.

None of them spoke. They just read. They read what the symbols said, and put it into their memory…

_When Ice Snow Pack's adopted member,_

_Is wrongly accused of murder and a kill,_

_When the darkness wailed out and everything went still,_

_That is when a mother will remember._

_When Koja arrives with disaster,_

_Koja, of darkness and flame;_

_When once again the shadow feels shame,_

_That is when a darkness is the master._

_When the shadow is owned by man and trembles,_

_Meets an energized lightning pup,_

_When child of day and darkness do assemble,_

_That is when the gods know something is up._

_When Ice Snow Pack and dark night rally,_

_When powers unleash across the land,_

_When Gods fight shadows for their allies,_

_That is when the dark lord is at hand._

_One of water, one of thunder, one of fire, all of night._

_The three are needed for darkness to fall,_

_All the creatures will heed their call,_

_For all are needed to defend and fight._

_So hear my words, listen well._

_The shadow must find its blood relations,_

_But all my words may not come true, in any nation,_

_But if does, life for a time will be a hell._

--------------------------------------------------

Saffron City, Kanto Region

--------------------------------------------------

Sami looked around frantically, trying to resolve the situation. She knew that she wouldn't be able to yank Koja out again, especially after the mistake of getting up before the gym opened. She wanted to beat Sabrina first thing in the morning, but now it seemed she'd been over enthusiastic. She sighed. And her old teacher said that enthusiasm was good.

The teenage girl looked up at a building, not far off. It was the Fighting Dojo, AKA the Fighting Gym. Her face lit up slightly. They'd go over there! Fighting Dojo students were normally some sort of training freaks… So they'd be up early… Right? But there was definitely one fool-proof idea to check if it was open…

Sami smiled 'convincingly' at the three Pokemon before her. They stared back at her.

"Who wants to go check out the gym eh? Let's have a race! Let's see who gets there first!"

Shadow stared skeptically at Sami with a look that obviously said, 'Do you actually think I'd fall for that?' The trainer was about to try more convincing on Shadow but the Umbreon's blue eyes that bored into her made the teenager change her mind.

"Koja! Wouldn't you like to-"her enthusiastic words were cut off by the Absol.

"No. The lights aren't even on in that building!"

"Well… Fighting Dojo people can have… different techniques!"

"Like training in the dark?"

"Yeah…!"

"No thanks. Besides, I'm only fighting for you once. And that is for this Gymleader in this gym."

"Inferno? I'm your best buddy right? Wouldn't you like to check out that-"

Again the human was cut off.

"No thanks. Besides, I though you were apparently not an amateur trainer. Those are pure fighting Pokemon Sami… Oh, let me see! One Umbreon, one Absol, one houndour. That makes three Dark Pokemon who are going to get a serious pounding by loads of Fighting Pokemon. We dark Pokemon are weak against Fighting types… Gah, how'd I get stuck with such an idiot."

A vein pulsed on Sami's forehead but her anger was restrained by new thoughts. She badly wanted a battle, and she was not going to give up.

"We need reinforcements! Zan, Ditto! Come on out you guys!"

Sami threw two red and white spheres into the air and soon after, a Cubone and a… Another Pokemon appeared.

Shadow's left ear twitched. The other Pokemon… Seemed to be a glob… Of purple Stuff? How did that work? She had never seen such a… thing before.

"Right… Shadow, Koja, Zan the Cubone, Ditto the ah…Ditto. Ditto, Zan, Shadow the Umbreon, Koja the Absol. Great! All done."

Unfortunately for Shadow, Ditto, the glob of purple stuff decided to come up right towards her. The glob managed some sort of grin at her.

"Hi I'm Ditto!" said Ditto the Ditto.

"Oh great, I didn't know that!" said Zan sarcastically.

The Cubone was probably a little bit older then her and Shadow but still younger then Inferno. His head was well concealed under his mask of bone and by the way he stood with his bone sword in his hand, Shadow had no doubt that Zan was an experienced fighter.

"So… Did your grandmother adopt them…? Or did you catch them?" Zan cocked his head at Sami.

Shadow noticed with some alarm that Koja's fur bristled and his eyes seem to become even more fiery then normal when he heard the word 'catch'. Sami ignored Koja.

"Naw, they're just here for the battle against Sabrina, right?"

Shadow nodded. There was a brief moment of silence before Ditto moved in to break it.

"I like being a copycat in stuff!" he said energetically.

"That's nice…" Shadow said politely

Ditto, encouraged by Shadow's comment went on, even more energetically.

"I can transform into any Pokemon that I can see! I can be an exact replica of you! All the way down to your exact hair and powers! Isn't that great! Oh! Oh! And you can sort of see through me, see!"

Sami shook her head. Maybe it wasn't THAT good an idea to let Ditto out. Zan muttered something that sounded like 'idiot' and Inferno just sighed and looked away.

The Ditto rose up on his… his hind things and beamed at Koja and Shadow. Both Pokemon looked scarred for life and very very disturbed. Unfortunately, Ditto seemed to see this as a positive reaction.

"Wanna see me transform? Huh huh?"

"Go ahead, I guess…" said Shadow.

The Ditto soon began to transform and mutate. His purple body changed into a shiny red colour and he became round and big. He had transformed into a…

Koja gave a '0.o' look and Shadow did a look very similar. Sami gagged. Zan did nothing and Inferno sighed again. Ditto had transformed into a huge big red shiny pokeball that had a face with it. The giant pokeball started to hop around in circles around the whole group.

"Isn't it great? Isn't it great? Isn't it great?"

"Yeah…" Sami thought rapidly, trying to find a new subject of conversation before Ditto disturbed Koja and Shadow any further.

"Hey! Zan, Ditto! Wanna go check out the Fighting Dojo? You know, see if it's open?"

"It's closed." Responded Zan.

"Don't be such a pessimist!"

"… I'm not a pessimist, I'm just stating the truth, and the Dojo is closed. Go ask Ditto to check it out if you're really that desperate."

Sami glanced at Ditto who was still hopping around in circles in his giant pokeball form. In her mind's eye, she imagined what would happen if the members of the Fighting Dojo gym saw a giant pokeball with a face on it come up to them and ask them if the dojo was closed.

"No… I think the Dojo's closed." Sami replied quickly, "I'm not THAT desperate."

"It's open."

"WHAT!" Sami glared at Shadow, "We all finally are convinced that the Dojo is closed and then you go on and say it's open! Please! Give me logic here!"

Shadow rolled her eyes, "Not the dojo, the other gym!"

All gazes in the group, except Ditto's (who was still hopping around) were directed towards the gym. Indeed, it was now open. It was dimly lit up and the gym door was open. Sami put Ditto and Zan back into their pokeballs and the remainder of the group walked to the gym.

Shadow lagged behind but as she did she felt a sudden chill breeze from behind her. Glancing backwards, the Umbreon saw a faint shadow bound across the hills and then quickly out of sight. She shook her head; her imagination was getting to her.

As they went through the main doorway, Shadow caught sight of the sign. She shook her head and smiled slightly as she read it. It now read, 'Open'. And indeed the gym door was open.

-------------------------------------------------------

"So… Inferno goes out first… Then Koja then Shadow. Go it?"

They were all standing on the challenger's stage area of the gym and Sami was getting nervous. She had repeated that last sentence three times exactly.

Inferno sighed and shook his head, "Yeah, look. It's going to be fine! We're all dark type Pokemon. A psychic type can't actually hurt us unless they use a non-pyschic attack which of course won't be that powerful. Chill out."

"I suppose…" but the trainer still looked very nervous.

She gazed at the three Pokemon in front of her now. Inferno would be alright, he was without doubt going to really knock out his opponent fast. She had trained him a lot. Koja, from the looks of it could fight, probably just as well as Inferno but she had no idea until she saw him in battle. But there was the question if he would actually listen to her… Sami sighed. And Shadow? She would listen to commands but the Umbreon probably had zero battling experience so that would be a major disadvantage…

"She's here." Koja gestured towards a young woman in her early twenties who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"_Are you here to challenge me?"_ The voice came soft and whispering.

"Ah…Yes. Yes, I am!" the words came a little startled. She had forgotten that Sabrina could of course speak mentally!

"_Then let's begin."_

A man walked out from a doorway and Sami took out her trainer ID, ready to show the referee.

"Samantha Atwane of Cinnabar Island challenges Sabrina, Gymleader of Saffron City to a Pokemon Battle. The fight will be three on three. Neither Gymleader nor Trainer may withdraw their Pokemon unless it has fainted. Let the battle begin."

Sami stuffed her trainer ID back into her pocket, mentally slapping herself once again. Of course she wouldn't need to show the man. She would probably use his psychic powers to get her name somehow…

"Inferno, you're out."

The houndour nodded and leapt onto the battle area. From Sabrina's end, A Xatu came out of its Pokeball and immediately started to fly towards Inferno at an astonishing speed.

"Flamethrower!"

Shadow glanced at the Gymleader. Sabrina did not speak like Sami to issue commands to her Pokemon, but the Umbreon had no doubt that the woman issued them mentally.

Fire erupted from Inferno's mouth and the Xatu was forced to fly up to avoid the attack.

"Flamethrower, again!"

Flames once again flew out from Inferno's mouth but the Xatu dodged them. Sabrina smiled. The bird Pokemon was too fast to be caught out.

"Flamethrower once more Inferno! Then finish it!"

Finish it. Shadow shook her head. It was impossible…

Inferno let his fire once again fly out from his mouth but the Xatu of course dodged it. The houndour smiled. Suddenly, out of the shadows, near the darker part of the gym, came a second Inferno. The houndour grinned at his surprised opponent and immediately let loose a flamethrower attack. The heat and fire completely scorched the Bird Pokemon with a direct hit. The other Inferno disappeared with a 'poof'. It had been an illusion.

"He knows double team?" interested and curious, Koja glanced at Sami.

The trainer did not take her eyes out of the battle, "He's not out yet Inferno! Use another flamethrower! Yes, Inferno knows double team. TM. Quite useful that move isn't it?"

Though injured quite badly, Inferno's opponent used what looked like 'recover'. Burn marks faded away, and the Xatu opened its eyes with new energy. Inferno took this time to use flamethrower again and the Xatu had no time to dodge. But even as the Bird tried to get out of the way, he still was hit but…

The Xatu and flew directly at Inferno and hit him with a wing attack. The houndour disappeared with a small 'poof'. It too, was an illusion.

"That doesn't make sense…" Koja muttered, his eye scanning the arena fro another Inferno to pop up, "If that Inferno wasn't real how did that Xatu get hit so badly?"

"It was real…" The Umbreon smiled grimly, "But Inferno switched with another illusion straight after… That was your plan right?"

"Yeah. And Inferno is going to take out that Xatu, now."

As if on cue, Inferno fainted in out of nowhere and bit his opponent in the neck. The houndour slashed the Pokemon and kicked for all he was worth. But the Xatu flew up. He kept flying. Finally, the Xatu mustered the last of its strength and flew right into the gym wall. Both Pokemon crashed into the wall and also crashed down onto the ground. Small shards of the wall flew out and there was a large impact on where the two battling Pokemon had crashed.

The referee walked over to the two Pokemon. Every eye in the gym looked anxiously at both Pokemon. The Xatu looked absolutely won out and bashed. Inferno just seemed really bruised and injured. But, Sabrina's Xatu somehow made it to stand up and look victoriously down at his opponent. Koja shook his head sadly.

"Thi-"

A black blur raced across the gym floor. The houndour that had bashed against the wall disappeared. Sabrina's Xatu just stood there, reflexes slowed down by the crash it had undertaken. But just before the blur managed the Xatu once again, made a teleport and vanished.

Inferno looked around anxiously but he didn't need to worry, the Xatu and teleported to the other side of the gym. In an instant, Inferno disappeared with a poof and another Inferno fainted in beside his Xatu.

"Yeah Inferno!" Sami pumped her hand into the air, "You have him now! Flamethrower!"

The burning flames completely decimated the Bird and it collapsed in a faint. Smiling grimly Inferno checked that his opponent was unconscious.

"That was one hell of a strategy…" Koja shook his head, "Let me see… You use an illusion to distract the Xatu and then get Inferno to get a direct hit with flamethrower then immediately create another illusion and switch then confuse the Xatu once more, get Inferno to come in with a faint attack then switch again somehow and finally finish Xatu off… That was one hell of a strategy…"

"It took a lot of training… But it finally pulled off eh, Inferno…What?" The trainer pumped her hand in the air again, "YES! You're finally evolving!"

The houndour glowed white and Shadow closed her eyes quickly to shield herself from the bright light that surrounded Inferno.

It was evolutionary light; she had remembered it from when she had… evolved. A flashback from that day reared up in Shadow's mind and the Umbreon tried to shut out the images.

There was Akara… Lying dead and the pack staring at her with unmerciful eyes… Then she was running…Curse… Killing…Death…Darkness… The day's events kept flashing over and over again.

Koja let out a grunt of respect for Inferno's new form. The houndour had evolved in a houndoom and the Pokemon had grown a more… devilish glint to him. Sami was smiling proudly as the referee announced the winner causing Shadow to snap out of her thoughts.

The Umbreon gazed at the houndoom and he grinned back at her. Sabrina withdrew Xatu and tossed another Pokeball out.

"Your up next Koja," Sami gestured to the Pokemon on the field, eager to do battle, "Inferno, return!"

Red light shot out from the pokeball in Sami's hand and encased Inferno. The light retracted and in a moment, faded. Koja leapt onto the battle area and took a battle stance. He was ready.

* * *

Whee. Chapter 7 Finished! 


	8. Chapter 8: A Show of Skills Part 2

Chapter 8. Wheeeeeeeee!

**DISCLAIMER: **NEWSFLASH! Pokemon is not owned by me.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 8:

A Show of Skills- Part 2

* * *

"Let me see… Absol…Attacks are- Shoot! It's attacking!"

Sami grimaced as Mr. Mime, Koja's opponent started forward first with a double slap. But Koja easily dodged the attack and smirked at his opponent's attempt.

"Aerial Ace!"

Koja responded immediately and in a split second Koja was on top of his opponent- that is, on top being on top of his opponent on thin air. Or that's what it looked like. It was actually a type of barrier. The Mr. Mime's eyes widened as he saw the scars on Koja's legs. The scars that had were cut in the shape of an 'x'. The battle stopped for a moment as there was obviously some dialog between the two. Koja suddenly reared up, furious. His eyes were glinting dangerously and he fainted in and out. The Absol kicked the Mr. Mime and seemed to be lost in his own world.

"Ack… Swagger."

Shadow scanned her tiny database of Pokemon Trainer knowledge of what the attack 'Swagger' was. She remembered from when she heard Sami describing a battle to her Grandmother. Swagger- an attack which highly confused the other Pokemon. The targeted Pokemon would have a low chance of even attacking but if it did attack, it would have double attack power. The Umbreon shook her head.

There was no use communicating to Koja now. The Absol was on a rampage. The Mr. Mime jumped away and started to make another barrier. He was just in time too- Koja banged headfirst into the invisible force field. The Absol flinched and his opponent took this time to jump out from behind his barrier and use another double slap on Koja.

One slap, two slaps, three slaps, four slaps, fi- Koja thrashed out at the Mr. Mime and bit his opponent's left ear. A shriek of pain was heard but Koja kept biting down. As Koja jumped away and prepared for another move Sami called out desperately.

"Swords Stance!"

It was a small moment of rejoicing. Somehow Sami's words reached the Absol and he nodded, if not a little bit dizzily. The Absol took a stance and raised his head. The fire in his eyes seemed to have doubled.

Mr. Mime took this time to initiate another double slap. But Koja was ready.

"Attack him with your horn!"

In an instant, Koja's horn was slashing left and right at his opponent. The Mr. Mime backed off immediately but Koja kept going. The Absol's horn may not have been used for battle a lot but the horn's edge was still razor sharp.

The Mr. Mime was starting to breath heavily, and there were cuts on his skin where Koja's horn had struck home. For a moment or two, the opponents watched each other, taking the moment to rest. But the peace didn't last long. Sabrina's Mr. Mime acted first, pulling his fingers into a fist and dealing a mega punch to Koja.

The Absol flew backwards, completely surprised by how hard he had gotten hit by the punch. Skidding backwards on the floor tiles, Koja glanced back at Sami for a command. He may have being experienced when it came to battling but he had almost no experience in fighting with psychic types. As much as he hated it, he would have to listen to Sami otherwise he'd definitely get beaten sorely.

Sami grimaced. She should have done more thinking last night. She had a limited knowledge on Absols. Most of that knowledge came from battling other Absols in trainer battles- and she had only encountered a few. The other problem was that… The teenager watched as Koja slowly got up. The other problem was that it was a known fact that dark Pokemon were weak towards fighting moves like mega punch…

"Use…Use taunt!" Sami called desperately.

Shadow shook her head as she watched both Pokemon, again exchange words. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, she had the general idea. The Umbreon just hoped that this battle wouldn't turn out into an insult competition.

The move must have worked because it wasn't long before the Mr. Mime was charging full speed at Koja.

"Charge at him with a quick attack!"

Although skeptical, the Absol began to charge at his opponent. With only a few seconds to spare, the Koja mustered up a black ball of power in his mouth. It soon took off like a bullet and took a direct hit at the Mr. Mime. But the black ball of energy did not stop there. It seemed to spread over the Pokemon, like a huge black net.

"Eh? What was that? That wasn't in the plan!" Sami yelled angrily, but she also added, "That was amazing! Where'd you learn that?"

Koja glanced up at her with a small dark smile on his face, "Just a technique I learned from someone…"

But the Mr. Mime wasn't done yet. Taking advantage of his opponent's temporary vulnerability, the Psychic type struck another mega punch at Koja. Before anyone had anytime to even warn Koja, the Absol was flying in the air, shock on his face.

"Aerial Ace!"

Koja nodded and with inhumane speed swooped done on his opponent. The Mr. Mime tried frantically to build a barrier but there wasn't enough time. Armed with claws and teeth, the disaster Pokemon attacked rabidly at the Mr. Mime. Again, the Absol formed a black ball of energy in his jaws and let it free to consume his opponent.

Jumping away, Koja waited and watched as Sabrina's Mr. Mime cried out in pain. IT wasn't long before the dark energy disappeared but it left Koja the victor. Sami breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Sabrina taking out a pokeball and withdrawing her Mr. Mime within in. The teen glanced at Shadow in thought.

"No…I think I'll keep Koja out a bit longer…" the human grinned down at the Absol, "Good going Koja!"

The Absol allowed himself a small smile. Sabrina almost mimicked it as she took out her final pokeball. It was a blue and white sphere and it hung from her neck.

"_Well done, Sami. You're quite a trainer… But, let's see how you take this. Let's go Alakazam!"_

------------------------------------------------------------

Wielding two gigantic metal spoons and standing firm was Sabrina's Alakazam. Even Koja looked at him in awe and Shadow's eyes widened. So this was the Pokemon that she had wanted to find. The Pokemon who was one of the most intelligent species in the world.

"Great… Ah Koja! Start it with swords stance!"

The stance was performed but, interestingly enough, Sabrina's Alakazam did not attack. He instead closed his eyes and dropped into some form of trance. Koja grimaced. He'd heard of this. A common strategy of an Alakazam was to find his opponents weaknesses and use them to his advantage. This was normally done in a trance like what his opponent was doing now.

"Don't give him thinking time! Use that, that… move. That dark thing!"

Koja muttered something about 'wrong name' but he nodded and let a black ball of energy fly out of his mouth. The energy hit the Alakazam full force and began to creep over the Psi Pokemon. But it disappeared as soon as the Alakazam opened his eyes. Sami swallowed.

"Razor Wind!" the trainer wasted no time to issue another command as the wind based attack returned to Sami's memory.

The Absol jumped up into the air and somehow conjured up a whirlwind using his horn. He directed it towards the Alakazam and the winds obeyed. However, the wind never even came near the Alakazam. Holding up a metal spoon, Sabrina's Alakazam sent a psywave directed at Koja.

Koja shook his head not understanding… He was immune those types of attacks…

"Koja! Get out of the way!" shrieked Sami, "He's not aiming for you! He's aiming for the floor!"

But it was too late, by the time, the Absol started to get out of the way, the telekinetic force had hit ground under him. The flooring basically flew up in the air, carrying Koja with it.

"Aerial Ace!" commanded Sami

But the Alakazam seemed to be expecting this and teleported away. Koja swooped down and landed safely on the floor. He looked around cautiously, waiting for his opponent to pop up somewhere…

"Behind you!" called out Shadow, but it was already too late.

A psybeam blasted into the floor and again the impact carried the dark type Pokemon upwards. Grappling at something to hold on to, the Absol succeeded- he was now clinging by one paw on the overhanging ceiling light.

The Absol cried out in pain. Dark Pokemon, like Koja tried to avoid bright light when possible, it seemed to have a damaging effect on them. Now, being stuck up there must have been hell for Koja.

Sami's eyes widened. What a cruel way to attack. But as she glanced at Koja's opponent, she saw a flicker of emotion come over the Alakazam's face as his eyes softened. But it didn't last for long before the emotion was gone.

Not wasting any time, the Alakazam lifted his metal spoon again and set the force hurtling towards the ceiling. The metal chains, securing the light to the ceiling broke and Koja hurtled down towards the gym floor.

Knowing that Koja would be knocked out and would suffer critical injuries form such a huge fall, Sami chucked a pokeball at the Absol. Shadow trembled, looking at the opponent before her. The referee had already declared Alakazam the winner… She had never even really battled before… She wasn't going to last.

-------------------------------------------------------

It seemed odd. A massive Psychic genius against tiny dog like Pokemon. Even with a type disadvantage, most people would say the Alakazam would win. Sami bit her lip. She was going to have to come up with a good strategy, and fast. It seemed hopeless- her brain working against a genius with an IQ definitely way higher than hers.

The Alakazam certainly wasn't attacking either. He had gone back to into his trance. Sami sighed. Attacking wouldn't work while the psi Pokemon was in that state. His powers were probably at their peak. So she waited. Both trainer and Pokemon waited. Until his eyes opened.

It was then that he made a mistake. The mistake of looking into Shadow's eyes. The Alakazam froze. Sami grinned. For once those eyes came in to be useful. Shadow walked forward, keeping her eyes on her opponent.

But the effect was suddenly broken. Sabrina seemed to utter a mental command to her Pokemon and the Alakazam looked away. The Psychic type closed his eyes for a split second- before all went black. The Alakazam had turned off the lights.

Shadow found it hard to keep calm. She had expected everything- but this. Her breathing became faster and faster. She felt vulnerable when she knew she should feel protected by the blanket of darkness covering her.

"Yeah! Go get him Shadow!"

Shadow swallowed. Sami didn't know about her phobia of the dark. Even with perfect night vision, Shadow still felt frozen in place. What was she going to do? Her opponent was definitely going to make his move at any moment.

Forcing herself to think, the Umbreon grimaced. She felt a psywave bounce of her. She cursed. Her opponent was probably using his psywaves as a sort of sonar or radar... When it bounced off something it probably came back to him and he would be able to tell the exact position of her!

Little by little, Shadow made her first step. She was going to turn on the light switch. But she had to do it quickly otherwise her opponent would find her. IT was a game of cat and mouse. The Alakazam trying to locate her, something sending blasts of psychic power out, and she, trying to find the light switch.

She had a faint idea of what they looked like. A square button. She had seen one behind the… The referee. Fainting in and out of the normal realm, Shadow soon made it. Her paw smacked the button and the lights went on again.

As quick as lightning, the Umbreon hurled herself at the Alakazam and slashed his arm. She jumped backwards and glanced at Sami, waiting for a command.

Although puzzled by why the Umbreon would turn the lights back on to her disadvantage, the trainer didn't waste a second,

"Quick Attack!"

A second later, the Umbreon had tackled into her opponent and then jumped backwards again. But the Alakazam barely took any damage and simply took the lights out again. Shadow cursed- she should've remembered to destroy the light switch. The Alakazam was probably trying to find some strategy or something… But there was something different, something different about the way he arranged his spoons…

Future sight. Sami had only seen it once, and that was when she went to watch the Kanto League Tournament. One trainer had an Alakazam who used that move to win the battle. The Alakazam had ignored attacks for a period of time before he unleashed a powerful attack…

"Shadow!"

But there was no answer, and in the complete pitch darkness Sami had no idea of what was going on. There was silence for a long while. A long, long while. The trainer had called out several times but there was no answer. Finally, there was a thud.

"_It's over."_

Sami sighed as she watched the lights flicked back on… She expected too much, she- The trainer blinked. Shadow was standing over an unconscious Alakazam. She was the winner… That was amazing. The trainer grinned but it disappeared almost immediately. Shadow was grinning… She was grinning at the Alakazam… What was wrong with the Umbreon?

She seemed to be a completely different character… But it must have been imagination for soon Shadow was back to her normal self. Alakazam disappeared and Sabrina still stared at Shadow.

"_She must have seen what happened…"_ mused Sami.

"_I did… Or rather, I probed my Alakazam's thoughts."_ The telepathic voice was scared, awed.

Sami blinked. Sabrina was known to be one of the most powerful Psychics in the world and the teen doubted that the gym leader would get scared or awed easily.

"_W-what did you…What happened…?" _

"_You must be a very good Pokemon trainer…Your Umbreon… Is very powerful. "_

Sami raised an eyebrow before she answered. Shadow was that powerful?

"_She's not mi- I mean…What did she do?"_

"_That I'm not exactly sure… My Alakazam couldn't really see anything through the darkness…Your Pokemon seemed to have an…evil aura…"_

Evil?

"_I don't get you. What do you mean by… evil?"_

"_I know you saw it… personality change you might call it."_

The auburn haired girl looked at Shadow who was slowly walking back to her. The scene from when she saw Shadow standing victor over Alakazam came back and the trainer shuddered when she remembered the facial expression of the Umbreon.

"_Yes, that personality change. I don't mean to alarm you but has your Umbreon always been this powerful?"_

"_I only just ah…caught her. I don't know much about her,"_ admitted Sami, _"Why?"_

"_Just wondering… And one last question. Are you sure that you have an Umbreon, not another species of Pokemon?"_

"_What! No… Well I'm pretty sure she's an Umbreon…Why?"_

Sami swallowed. This was getting worse. How did things end up so complicated?

"_Well. According to my Alakazam, you Umbreon has a phobia to the dark and shadows. That's why she switched back on the lights during the battle. Abnormal traits for an Umbreon wouldn't you say? And besides that, well… There's a good chance that she used a water based attack sometime during the battle. There is a puddle of water on the ground where my Alakazam fell unconscious."_

Sami looked, and as the Gymleader said, there was a small puddle of water.

The Gymleader continued, _"You'd better get her checked out at the Pokemon Center… There's something strange about your Umbreon, I'll tell you that."_

_------------------------------------------------------------_

Illex Forest, Johto Region

_-----------------------------------------------------------_

Illex Forest was known to have a shrine to Celebi- the Forest Guardian. It was also known to be a place where it wasn't that sunshiny- thus, some of the Pokemon that made their homes in the forest were sensitive to bright light. This was the reason why Zapdos was trying to dim the bright light that shone from his body. The light struggled to stay bright, but it couldn't win against its master. Soon, the light flickered and dimmed to a tiny glow.

"Done?" Celebi, the Forest Guardian looked at his fellow god with mild interest before continuing, "So… What brings you here?"

"Well… it's kind of a long story…" but seeing as he had the whole afternoon ahead of him, Zapdos gave his friend a brief summary of what had happened to him and his siblings in the Ruins of Alph.

"I do… Kind of remember that prophecy…" The Pokemon paused in thought after Zapdos had finished, "It was first made… Around fifty human years ago? I'm not exactly sure… I traveled back to that year once…"

Celebi had a strange talent to travel through time- but even the God himself didn't like to talk about it. Apparently it still held many secrets and wasn't all that safe.

"And?" the word sounded slightly excited.

"And," continued Celebi, "This prophecy was made by a Slowking. He lived somewhere up in the mountains in Kanto."

"Is he still alive?"

"I doubt… You know how mortals are- they have short lives." The Forest Guardian frowned in thought, "But why the Unown would have knowledge of such a prophecy is really quite strange… I think I'll investigate- this matter is quite interesting. Entei told me about it."

"Thanks for your help. Well, I'd-"

A dark shadow flew past overhead making some leaves on the tree rustle slightly. Immediately on the alert, Zapdos scanned the area.

"What in the-" Eyes were watching the pair closely from the cover of bushes, "What is this?"

Zapdos glanced at Celebi, irritated.

"They're just Pokemon…but if you want…" the God waved his arm at the bushes, "Be off!"

In an instant every Pokemon watching had disappeared. Celebi began to drift of, saying he had matters to attend to.

"You'd better be more careful. That conversation wasn't exactly for every mortal to hear. They get scared easily." Zapdos warned, "Besides… Watch over this forest, hey? There's something going on…"

Celebi laughed softly as he left the small clearing, "Of course I'll watch over my forest! What do you expect? I'm their guardian."

-------------------------------------------------------

Saffron City Pokemon Centre

-------------------------------------------------------

The Pokemon Centre couch was probably as comfortable as you could get- except Samantha Atwane, also known to the reader as Sami just did not feel comfortable. She had been thinking about what Sabrina had said to her about Shadow.

"_There's something strange about your Umbreon, I'll tell you that."_

The words seem to echo in her mind… It wasn't long before another scene popped into her head. It was when she and Shadow were walking to the Pokemon Centre. Tentatively, she had asked the Umbreon, what had happened when she knocked Sabrina's Alakazam out. The Umbreon quietly said that she would rather not talk about it. So they left it at that.

Now she was sitting in the Pokemon Centre waiting. Waiting for her Pokemon to wake up. Sami sighed as she glanced at the double doors that led to the Emergency Room. Koja and Inferno were taken there, while Shadow only had minor injuries and was sleeping somewhere…

"Are you the trainer of the Absol who went into the Emergency Room?"

The teen looked up. Standing before her was a pink haired woman who was one of the famous, 'Nurse Joy's' But then, she didn't look too joyful. There was a firm frown on her face.

"Ah…Yes. Yes, I am. Why?"

"Well… You'd better come with me."

Puzzled, Sami followed the woman into a small office. Nurse Joy sat down at a computer and faced Sami.

"May I have your Trainer ID?"

"Yes… Wait a sec'" Sami fumbled around in her pocket before coming up with it, "Here."

Inserting the card into a slot in the computer, Nurse tapped a few keys on the keyboard before a picture of Sami and information about her came up on the screen. Sami scowled at her picture. She was wearing a hideous t shirt and sporting a really cheesy smile.

"What is it?" she asked irritably.

"Well…"

Nurse Joy tapped some more keys on the keyboard and a picture of Koja came up. Sami cringed. She must have caught Koja when she chucked a pokeball at him.

"Yes. Look at that Absol's trainer ID number."

Sami glanced at it… It… It wasn't hers.

"What? There's got to be a mistake…"

"There isn't. I've double checked. So, according to this data…"

Nurse Joy sighed.

"You're a Pokemon Thief."

* * *

I'm really sorry but I just suck at describing battle scenes… I'm hopeless at them. But I guess it has improved. Looking back at the gym battle before my re-editing I have to say that it caused me to gag…

And the gym battle scene still causes me to gag…But not as much. Also, I'm not exactly sure if I made Sabrina too… cold and cruel? She was meant to be nicer… But anyways, that's Chapter 8 done!

W00T! W00T! Finally- I don't think I'll have to do another battle scene for a while… Well I think so anyway.

Thanks for reading this far reader! I don't care if you don't review (well actually I kind of do but that's not the point) but… Shoot. What was I going to write? Oh well… It was probably something cheesy anyway….


	9. Chapter 9: Koja's Confession

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 9:

Koja's Confession

* * *

Ignoring, the irritated cries of the Chansey nurse who was in charge of the ward, Sami scanned the beds for any signs of Koja. A tiny smile came when she saw that all three of them seemed to be resting peacefully. Walking past Shadow and Inferno's beds she patted them a little before reaching Koja at the end of the room. She pulled up a stool and sat down. For a few minutes there was silence while the trainer mused on what she was going to do.

"It's you…" the voice of the Absol sounded weak and tired and Koja struggled to keep his eyes open, "This, this is an outrage! They stuck all these needles in me… I'm going to make you pay…"

Sami smiled softly before her face hardened, "Koja."

"Yeah? Are you going get me out of this silly place?"

"No… Apparently you were…" the teen struggled to find the right words, "Owned previously by a trainer?"

"And? Make it quick… I need my beauty sleep…"

Sami's eyes softened as she watched the Absol struggle to remain awake. The needles that had been stuck in him were to put him to sleep and to keep him docile were certainly doing their work... She had been told that the Absol was scared stiff and trashing about so there had been no choice but to use them.

"Well… Apparently, I stole you as I kind of tossed a pokeball at you during the battle…"

"Silly human…" but the trainer could tell that the Absol trusted her less now but had mixed feelings.

On one hand, she knew that the Absol desperately didn't like pokeballs and on the other hand, she didn't want him to get any more hurt then his already half critical state. She shook her head and re focused on what she was going to say.

"And when I brought you here to heal up, you were found that you were actually owned by someone else. Not owned by me like if I had just 'caught' you with a pokeball."

"What!" Koja was alert, wide awake.

"Shh… Keep it down… So if I don't offer an explanation or anything… You're not free and… You go back to whoever owned you previously. Which I think is a mistake but…"

"Is he… Is he here?" Koja looked around frantically, "Please say he isn't… Please!"

Sami sighed. It wasn't a mistake as she had thought it'd be. It was logical- Koja was scared of humans but it didn't make sense as he was a wild Pokemon. So, a logical explanation would be that the Absol had a previous trainer who was pretty nasty to him and the Absol somehow got free but was still officially 'owned' by that trainer… What a mess.

"What's wrong Koja boy…" by now Inferno had awoke by Koja's previous outburst, "Gotten into a fit now?'

The Houndoom also seemed quite out of it and was struggling also to stay awake.

"Eh… Where… Where am I?" Shadow's voice, sleepy came across the room, "What's this… thing doing on my leg?" There was fear in the voice, nearly mirroring Koja's, "What's happened?"

Sami's eyes widened and she rubbed her forehead with one hand. She couldn't handle both Shadow and Koja at one time… Inferno was too out of it to even help Shadow and she knew that Ditto would probably cause more confusion to Shadow then assistance. So…

"Zan." Sami whispered into the Cubone's Pokeball, "I sort of need you… To… Well I know you normally don't do these things. But please! Just go kind of explain to Shadow because she's pretty freaked out right now."

The Cubone grunted as he was let out. He walked slowly towards the bed and towards the younger Pokemon. In a single bound, the ground Pokemon had leapt onto the bed. Both Pokemon were uncomfortable though one was also freaked out.

"Umm… Well you ah… Don't need to worry…" started the Cubone.

Sami smiled as she turned back to Koja. Social Skills were something Zan wasn't particularly good at and she knew that comforting and explaining things to Shadow would probably be good for him.

"No… I don't think he's here. You trainer that is…" Sami shook her head, "But please… Can you explain to me? I'm kind of confused right now."

The Absol closed his eyes for a while, obviously in a mental debate whether to explain or not. Finally he opened his eyes slowly. Shadow and Zan were by now done and were watching the Absol. Even Inferno had stirred out from his sleepy state and was now waiting intently.

"All right, I'll tell you." All traces of sleepiness gone, the Absol swallowed hardly and began to speak.

--------------------------------------------------

When you're only a few months old, ninety percent off your feelings are near to or are happy. You world is simple- play, eat, and sleep. But, the world of Koja suddenly crashed down around him on one fateful day.

Maybe, his family shouldn't have left the pack that day to go out as a family. Maybe they should've stayed with the pack. Maybe then Koja's life would have been a lot happier.

But Koja's family did stay within the pack grounds. They traveled out from the mountains and into the forest and his parents let he and his siblings play and swim in the nearby river. It was a warm spring day and every seemed right.

That is, until they heard the voice of a human boy. A growlithe sprang out of a bush on the other side of the river and jumped into the water. Koja's parents called out for their children to return while racing forward.

The others swam easily out of the water, but Koja, being the youngest, struggled to come back to dry land. The river current was strong to a young Absol like himself and he became more and more frightened as he heard the Growlithe swim closer and closer.

He cried out for someone to save him. But his parents did not move. They only watched as the Growlithe picked Koja up by the scruff and carried him away. It was in that moment was it was suddenly pitch dark.

The human boy swore and cursed. But it wasn't long before suddenly, again, light returned to the world and the Growlithe was by the boy's side, looking sorrowfully down at the little Absol puppy before her.

The Absol looked and stared as ever so slowly, he watched his family walk away from in and disappear into the forest. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a white and red sphere coming towards him and he felt it hit him. A second later, the Absol was crying, wailing, shaking, and trembling. He was trapped within a sphere. He was being jostled around, he was scared stiff.

That was his first experience with a pokeball. It was also his first experience with humans. There was deep cut in his heart where his family was meant to be but they were no longer there. He was all alone.

He found out that he was meant to be trained and used to battle other Pokemon. The boy trained him to do attacks and techniques which weren't meant for such a young Absol, let alone any Pokemon. The boy kicked Koja when he was confused, kicked him when he made a mistake, kicked him when he felt like it.

And the boy's friends were not much different. They kicked the young Absol too, or scorned and mocked him. When the Absol met the other Pokemon of the human boy, he was even more confused. They seemed to be emotionless, beaten into obedience. Except the Growlithe who had captured him.

Only she had emotions, even if they were very little. The fire Pokemon comforted him when times were extremely rough and when her trainer wasn't looking. The Growlithe kept a look out for the Absol, making sure he had enough will to live.

But even with the kicking and the beating, Koja somehow evolved into the little runt who could win battles. He was successful in winning in beating Pokemon far older then he. The only joy he had was a twisted one- to knock out another Pokemon and stand the victor.

But deep in himself, the dark Pokemon was a twisted mess of confusion and hate for humans. But one day, one fortunate day when the gods had mercy on the Absol, his pokeball broke. It malfunctioned. The trainer turned away for a second or two to curse at the pokeball and swear at it. This was the time that the Growlithe used to whisper freedom in his ear and send him off in the forest.

The Absol gave his only furry refuge and finally lick and looked back at her sorrowfully as he ran faster then he had ever had before. When he was safe, far away, he heard the angry yells of the boy and he heard the yelps of the Growlithe who put herself at risk to give him his freedom.

He left for home. Not knowing where else to go. He traveled to the woods, past lakes and rivers till he finally breathed the mountain air of his home territory. But the time that he met his family wasn't a happy occasion.

Fake joy was plastered on their faces and the Absol could tell. He wasn't naive anymore like he had been. They mistook him for the runt of the family again, not knowing, not caring what he had gone through. He was teased and mocked for for unhealthy his coat looked. He was scorned for how skinny he was but the last straw came when he was ridiculed on how he was absolutely useless and would never amount to anything by his elder sister.

That returned the fire to Koja's eyes and his instinct taught to him by the human boy to knock out and fight returned. His sister was no match for his superior battle skills and as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, he was stopped by his father.

The pack was fed lies by his parents, about how he brutally tried to kill his sister when the Pokemon herself did nothing. As his father was a highly respected member of the pack, Koja was kicked out. The event was marked by the traditional two scars on his front legs that were in the shape of an 'x'.

His experience left Koja with a fiery hatred for his family and pack and an intense desire to return for revenge one day. His heart was turning into stone- the tender love that the Growlithe had shown him was beginning to be forgotten and there as an everlasting phobia of humans mixed with a hatred for them.

And that was Koja's story.

--------------------------------------------------

There was silence as the Absol finished speaking. No one knew what to say. For what could they say? Sami pondered on what she was going to do. Things were turning into one huge knotted mess that she was trying to untangle but each time she undid a knot, a new knot appeared.

The doors to the ward opened and someone started to walk in. Koja's eyes widened and bolted off his bed and through a nearby window. The glass shattered into pieces and it wasn't long because Koja's form was running, running away. Shadow closed her eyes for a moment before leaping up from her bed. Glancing quickly at Inferno, Zan, and Sami, Shadow dipped her head in a thank you before she too, leapt out of the window and ran to catch up with Koja.

The person who walked through the doors stared at the glass. It was Nurse Joy.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this…"

Sami sighed and put her head in her hands. It was going to be a long day.

--------------------------------------------------

Koja cursed. In pure instinct he had suddenly bolted out of his bed like that. But there was no going back to the Pokemon Centre. He just wouldn't go back. He just couldn't go back.

Beside Koja, Shadow gazed at the Pokemon Centre worried. She wanted to help Sami, but in all seriousness, what could she actually do? If she went back to try and even help, she had a feeling Koja was sure to follow and there'd be a bigger mess. Koja would, against his will go back to his old trainer and it wouldn't be very pretty.

Finally, after the two stood in silence for a while, Koja turned to leave. Shadow follow suit but she turned to gaze at the Pokemon Centre one last time. And in a single bound the Umbreon jumped into the bushes and disappeared to follow Koja.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10: Oh Koja how I Irritate Thee!

**DISCLAIMER:** The disclaimer for this chapter can be found in the beginning of Chapter 9 as the author doesn't feel like writing one today.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 10:

Oh Koja- how I irritate you!

* * *

"_That thing… No wait. That was actually an exaggeration- a huge exaggeration. The proper term for 'that thing' would be 'that monster'! Yes. It couldn't even be considered to be a Pokemon it was so… infuriating… so annoying!"_

"Can you play with me Koja? Can you play with me Koja?"

The tenth time… the Absol had kept a count. An hour ago he had known peace very well. Now, peace was a feeling that had disappeared when the monster popped up suddenly and annoyingly.

"Please? Pretty please?" the speaker of the words ran backwards grinning at Koja.

"For the last time! No! No way! Never!" Koja growled and swatted angrily at the monster. He was never going to have children…

Shadow sighed, "Koja… She's just a little baby! How can you be so mean? You were her age once you know!"

"I was a refined little creature. What we have here Shadow is a completely mutant of a Pokemon. Besides, little Pokemon should be seen and not heard." retorted Koja.

The subject of Shadow's and Koja's conversation cocked her head, "Aw gee… What does that mean?"

"It means shut up!" Koja replied bluntly and irritably.

He hadn't fully recovered from his injuries and his patience was really beginning to wear out.

"I think she meant in nicer terms…" Shadow muttered.

"The little thing asked for it…"

"It's a Poochyeena Puppy, not a thing. Besides how would you feel if you got separated from your parents?" Shadow asked.

"Happy."

That was definitely not the answer she wanted… Shadow sighed.

"Yeah, see Koja's right Shadow. I am feeling happy and excited and- and hy-hy"

"Hyperactive."

"Yeah!" she said, "That's right! You know…are we lost? Cos' this place don't look familiar!"

"Well… It's your home territory right Pep?" asked Shadow addressing the younger Pokemon, "Why don't you go call someone for help or something?"

Pep nodded and grinned.

Koja choked on some spit he was swallowing, "Shadow… Obviously, this thing that we are with is lost. If she wasn't lost she would've called for help long before now and we wouldn't be with her. So we are wasting more time and we are going to get even more lost!"

"Have faith?" tried Shadow weakly, "Pep's got quite a good brain I suppose…"

"The Pipsqueaks doesn't have anything in her brain except to annoy me!"

"No, no Koja! I never thought of annoying you!" said Pep shaking her head as she sniffed the ground, "I just wanted to play and have fun and I have lots of stuff that I think about in my brain like-like Oran Berries! And Pecha Berries! And Mother and Father, and my brother and-and lots and lots of stuff! In fact I'm amazed my head doesn't explode!"

The Poochyeena put her paws on her head then lifted them away quickly to mime her head exploding.

"The world would be a much better place if it did explode…" Koja sighed and wondered when he would gain his oh so precious peace back.

Pep gave another sniff on the ground before walking off to trot and sniff. It wasn't long before the Poochyeena stopped completely and howled. It wasn't really a sad or scary howl- well it may have been if Pep was older but being so young the howl could only be described as well… a very cute howl. Shadow smiled, Koja scowled.

After about a minute or so of waiting and watching Pep stare up in the air grinning happily, Koja's scowl turned into a smirk and Shadow's smile turned into a sigh.

"I told you this wasn't a good idea. That furball's not only infuriating but a complete lunatic."

"Have faith…?"

"That won't work again…"

Suddenly, Shadow felt relieved as she heard a rustle of wings from overhead. In less then as few seconds a Skarmory swooped down and landed beside Pep. The Poochyeena immediately nearly hugged the Bird Pokemon's leg to death (the puppy couldn't reach anywhere else to hug) and called for Koja and Shadow to come over.

The Skarmory was huge and yet somehow he seemed familiar. The Umbreon knocked the feeling off. She had seen quite a few Skarmories in her life before. She probably just mistook this one for another. Pep eagerly and enthusiastically did the introductions:

"Sky this is Koja, Shadow who are helping me, Koja Shadow this is the Skye the huge big super super cool, too cool to actually be true but is true, Skarmory!"

Skye nodded amiably at them while Shadow and Koja made their brief hi or hello. Shadow waited for Skye to further introduce himself as to how he knew Pep. But the Skarmory just grinned and smiled at her and Koja. Shadow shook her head, a little skeptical of the Skarmory. Pep had introduced Sky as the huge big super super cool, too cool to actually be true but is true, Skarmory! Well, from just looking at Skye, The Umbreon could see that the 'huge big' part of Pep's description of Skye was definitely true- just by using your own two eyes you knew that Skye was going to be big for a little Pokemon like Pep.

But the 'super super cool, too cool to actually be true but is true, Skarmory!' part? She had doubts about that. Yeah she really did. You only had to be around Pep for a minute to see she had a million billion friends and totally zero enemies. Pep thought Koja was 'really coooool! Grumpy but cooool!' The Umbreon had a feeling that Pep had such optimistic and high feelings about the Pokemon –not to be racist or anything against Skarmories- was because of the sleek, steel, shining plumage that Skye had.

Shadow shrugged. She and Koja could take this 'Skye' on. Well, Shadow glanced at Koja with his various cuts and injuries. The Umbreon knew though Koja acted he was fine, that he was incredibly weak from the gym battle. He was still in intensive care. Shadow snapped out of her thoughts as she continued to listen to Pep's babble at how 'super cool' Skye was with the Skarmory blushing every few moments.

Koja was half heartedly listening to Pep's babble and he finally got tired of it. Telling himself that Skye and Shadow wouldn't mind and that probably no one could understand what the little furball was saying anyway since she was speaking so fast… The Absol with one paw clamped it over the Poochyeena's mouth. Unfortunately, this didn't stop Pep from talking and the young Pokemon accidentally bit Koja's paw.

Poochyeena's are also known as the 'Bite Pokemon'- the reason why Koja's face was contorted in pain as he tried to shake the sharp teeth of Pep off. The Poochyeena amiably did so and was about to inquire how Koja was when. - a squawk came from a nearby bush. All attention to Koja was dropped as the group stared at the source of the noise. Sure enough, a few moments later came two Spearows, both who seemed to be in quite the temper. Squabbling and pecking each other the pair flew off.

Koja by now was on his feet and walking a little unsteadily to the small group.

"Yo. Can an Absol get some A-TEN-TION here?" he said huffily.

"Is this dude talk now, let the hu-humens do?" Pep struggled over the foreign word, "Like yo man! Wazz up? Like you're totally cool man! Dude that's awesome!"

The Poochyeena's head bobbed up at each 'dude talk' phrase while Skye and Shadow smiled, amused at Pep. Koja gave the puppy a '-.- face. Koja turned to Skye.

"So…what's your name?" he said, ignoring Pep who was still spouting her "dude talk".

"Oh! He's, he's the super super cool, too cool to actually be true but-" Pep stopped her display of 'dude talk' to tell Koja Skye's 'name'.

"Yes, we know you think he's cool and yadda-yadda-yadda, but what is your name?" asked Koja interrupting and directing his question to the Skarmory.

"Skye! The supersupercool,toocooltobeactuallybetruebutistrueSkarymoryyyyy!" cried Pep quickly. Skye nodded quickly.

Shadow and Koja blinked.

"Right…"

--------------------------------------------------

Somewhere Else…

--------------------------------------------------

"What did you find out?"

"Nothing- of course. Entei is becoming more paranoid about all this then you two put together… He somehow shut himself in this volcano to investigate…."

"I found out little. Suicuine busy at the moment attending this annual ceremony. She told me she'd tried to look out for anything but she doubted any of this would come to anything."

"And I… Well, Celebi gave be a vague location of where the Pokemon who made the prophecy lived. Mountain area."

"Then let's make this our last search for any clue… So far it's been a wild goose chase. Agreed?"

"Agreed brother. But I doubt this part of our search will be fruitless."

"We'll see about that… Are you agreeing Articuno?"

"Yes. Agreed."

"Then let's go. We'll split up and search the known mountainous areas in the world. I'll search Hoenn."

"I'll go to Johto and that leaves Articuno with…"

"Kanto. Right let's go."

----------------------------------------------------

And Back To…

----------------------------------------------------

The forest near Saffron City was beautiful. It was so thick with threes and bushes that the humans had not destroyed the forest for themselves yet. The atmosphere was peaceful quiet, but it of course did not last for long.

"Where's Pep?"

Shadow scanned the area desperately for the younger Pokemon but it was in vain. The Poochyeena was nowhere in sight. Koja and Skye glanced at Shadow.

"What do you mean? The little furball was right-"

The Absol spun around to find nothing.

"Pep?" Shadow called out worriedly. There was no answer. Koja scanned the area, trying to find some trace of the Poochyeena. But the Absol found nothing. There were numerous trails of paw prints, hoof prints, and Pokemon prints all over the place that it was near impossible to find which one was Pep's. At the moment, Koja felt uncomfortable. Now that his ears had gotten used to the high amount of noise that Pep made, the sudden peace and quiet he now had was very unusual…

Shadow turned to Skye who seemed to be deep in thought, "Do you know where Pep is?"

Skye nodded vigorously.

"Where?"

Skye nodded even more vigorously.

"Yes… I know you know where she is… But where is she?" asked the Umbreon.

Skye nodded his head again and again.

"Shadow…"

"Koja… " Shadow shushed, "Skye. Please? Where is Pep?"

"Shadow! Haven't you figured it out yet? Skye can't…"

Realization snapped into the Umbreon as she worked out Koja was saying or rather, almost saying… Skye was mute- he couldn't speak.

* * *

Yippee!

I only have two silly chapters to revise and rewrite till I can finish my 'revision' process!

YAY! YAY! YAY!

Now back to work…


	11. Chapter 11: Charades

**DISCLAIMER:** Pokemon and all things related belong to someone is a complete genius.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 11:

Charades

* * *

Mute. Skye was mute.This was going to be a problem. Shadow placed a paw on her forehead and leaned against a tree. How did she get into all this complicated business? A few weeks ago she had been still busily anticipating the aftermath of what would happen when she evolved.

However… She never expected for it to turn out like this. She had killed Akara, been banished from her pack…Shadow shook her head angrily to clear her head. She was sick of all the negative thoughts she had been having lately.

"So you where Pep is?" Shadow asked.

Nod, nod.

"Well of course he knows where Pep is," said Koja, "He just said about three or four times that he knew where she was! Well not said… showed I guess. Anyway, what he needs to do is tell or show us where she is."

The Absol turned to Skye. Shadow breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Koja was back to his old logical, respectable self. No more panic attacks, nor more hyperactiveness in the middle of the night…

"So can you lead us to her?" asked Koja.

Skye shook his head and flapped his wings very vigorously.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know! You're the one who asked the stupid question!" snapped Shadow. She wasn't very good at these things.

Skye looked back and forth at the two other Pokemon and rubbed his head with one wing. He then looked around hardly.

"You don't know?" guessed Koja.

Skye shook his head and held out his wing in what looked like a 'wait' gesture. A minute later, the Skarmory held a medium length stick inside his beak and walked to a path of dirt next to a tree. Bending down, the Skarmory very carefully moved his head in odd angles and ways. Shadow walked over beside Skye to see what he was doing. Koja followed suite.

Both Pokemon waited patiently- well actually that was more Koja, Shadow kept ushering Skye to, "Hurry up!"- for Skye to do whatever thing he was doing. Finally, after what seemed for ages, the Skarmory stood back and beamed down at them. Skye turning to a nearby tree, balanced the stick he'd been holding in his mouth onto a branch. He turned back to Koja and Shadow who were peering at what he had been doing with the stick. The Skarmory was standing very proudly in front of his ah… squiggly things.

"Maybe it's a map..." said Koja.

"It can't be!" argued Shadow, "It well…"

The Umbreon peered closer at the thing. It was basically a picture of a thing-a-bob, a picture of a terribly off circle with some marks all around it, and then lots of thing-a-bobs together.

"Well?" asked Koja.

"It's not a map." Replied the Umbreon stubbornly, "I don't possibly see how it's a map."

"Oh yeah?" asked Koja," Watch."

He pointed to the thing-a-bob.

"That's where the little furball is right now."

Shadow pursed her lips together in a slight frown at the term 'furball'. Koja ignored her and pointed to the 'lots of thing-a-bobs together'.

"That's where we are."

"How about that thing in the middle?"

Shadow pointed to the terribly off circle with the marks all around it.

"It's a landmark!"

"Oh give me a break Koja. That ludicrous…"

The two had been so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't see Skye trying to contact them. Finally, the Skarmory decided to stick his head in, so that he was millimeters away from Shadow and Koja's heads.

"Whoa." Koja jumped back, it was a bit too close for comfort.

Shadow's eyes widened the relaxed when Skye moved his head back to its normal position.

"It's not a map right?" asked Shadow.

Skye nodded.

"Hah!"

"But we still don't know what it is…" Koja pointed out.

Skye, using his wing, pointed to the thing-a-bob. The Skarmory to then prance around, jumping and skipping. With no offense meant, he really looked like a deranged lunatic who needed to be sent to the Pokemon Psychiatrist.

"Mental Asylum." Was Shadows 'sarcastic answer.

Skye shook his head, though he looked offended.

"My dear ringlet-ed Umbreon, it appears clearly to me, the one obviously with the higher intelligence, who Skye is imitating."

"Get on with it." Muttered Shadow. Why couldn't Skye be deaf instead? Now she'd have to suffer with all of this. Gah.

"It of course appears clearly to-"

"And?"

"It's that little abomination."

"Oh." Shadow inspected the thing-a-bob. Oh my- maybe it was called what Inferno told her. Modern Art? Or then there was a higher chance that Skye simply could not draw with his beak and wings.

"Besides, she doesn't act like that!" protested Shadow,"Not like a-excuse me- like a lunatic!"

"Haven't you seen the pipsqueak?" retorted Koja.

He pranced around, and jumped up and down, "Hey there!" he squealed mimicking Pep's high voice, "I'm your new buddy! Heehee! I'm going to annoy Koja to death! Heeheehee!"

The Umbreon nodded slightly, forced to admit that Skye's imitation was very similar to Pep. Shadow watched Skye as he gestured to the drawing of the terribly off circle. He then pointed up.

"The sun." said Koja not even bothering to look up.

Skye looked like he had been granted his voice back. Skye nodded again and he then finally gestured to the group of thing-a-bobs.

"Multiple Peps? Clones?" guessed Koja.

Skye shook his head. Lots of Poochyeenas? Is she in a gang!" said Shadow frantically, "They've captured her!"

Skye shook his head sternly.

"Oh I don't know…Her family or something?"

Skye pounced on Koja and nodded. The Absol pushed the Skarmory off him.

"Yeah, yeah so I'm right. But it's not getting us anywhere!"

Skye beamed at Koja before pointing the thing-a-bob which they now knew was a picture of Pep. He then walked around for a few steps before pointing to the picture of Pep's family.

"I feel lost…" muttered Shadow.

"Think outside the box," said Koja, "She's at her family's."

Skye grinned and nodded.

"But what do we do?" asked Shadow, "She was meant to lead us to her family."

Skye shrugged and flexed his wingtips so they were spread into a "hand". Wait.

--------------------------------------------------

Saffron City, Johto Region

--------------------------------------------------

Sami gazed from where she sat on a bench at the Pokemon Centre. She had finally gotten out of the Pokemon Centre after Nurse Joy's fierce interrogation a few minutes. A Houndoom carrying a Pokeball in his mouth came running up to her.

"Hey! So... Did it work?" the trainer asked hopefully, taking the pokeball from Inferno's mouth and giving the Pokemon a pat.

"We'd better get to your grandmother's… Nurse Joy is well… Kind of still on the warpath…"

True enough; a pink haired woman was glaring at Sami from the window of the Poke Centre.

"Hypnotizing her with Ditto didn't work? Strange."

"The goon imitated a Marcargo, not a Hypno. You know, a fire slug Pokemon. And we all know how Nurse Joy hates those…If Ditto have turned into an Evee or something cute like that… Well then maybe we would've stood a chance. But no… Do just about the worst thing ever…genius."

The houndoom glared at the Pokeball in Sami's hand.

There was a sniffle from the Pokeball followed by an "Everybody likes slugs…"

"I wonder how Koja got a long." murmured Sami patting Ditto's pokeball, "He was scared to death when Nurse Joy came in-"

"Leaving you with serious charges." Ended Inferno distastefully

"Well, she kind of knows me…." Said Sami hopefully, "Besides, we don't have the full picture of Koja yet and that Nurse Joy is quite… paranoid."

"Whatever. Besides, that have you seen the scars of both of them?"

"What? You mean Koja and Shadow?"

"Yeah, those two. They both have the mark of an outcast…"

"What for like… consorting with a human?"

The teen's Pokemon rolled his eyes, "I got stuck with the worst trainer ever… Of course not! Something more serious like… murder."

Sami's eyes widened and by instinct suddenly remembered Sabrina's words about Shadow and Koja's story…

"_His sister was no match for his superior battle skills and as he was about to deliver the finishing blow…_

_Your Pokemon seemed to have an…evil aura…"_

"Hey…What's wrong?" Inferno glanced up at Sami, worried, "I didn't scare you, did I?"

"Of course not…" Sami forced a laugh out of her mouth, "Silly you. I was just thinking…"

"Bring the news reporters in! Everyone crowd around! Sami Atwane has just 'thought'! Amazing! Spectacular! A miracle!" cried the Houndoom.

"Shush up you… I got the worst Pokemon ever don't I?"

"And I have the worst trainer."

"So…"

Inferno's ears perked up.

"Let's get out of town, you know… Lie low till all this clears up? We could go… Visit my old teacher in the mountains…"

* * *


	12. Chapter 12: Meet the Parents

**DISCLAIMER:** StarDragon X owns Pokemon. (Note: It's opposite day today)

Whee! Finally! I'm on the last stage of my revision process of this story! Chapter 12! My last chapter I'm so happy!

Yay!

Ok that was fun…

Read and hopefully enjoy.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 12:

Meet the Parents

* * *

Skye, Shadow and Koja sat around looking aimlessly at the environment. Koja sometimes wandered around the area then back again, driven by boredom. That crazy bird had told them to wait. Well they had and there was no sign of Pep. He'd tried convincing Shadow to just leave Skye- they had better things to do than this. They had been waiting- a long time.

But sadly the Umbreon refused. Shadow had been sitting in broad daylight (far away from the shadows) on top of a log, looking around serenely. Skye had long ago perched on a tree branch lowered his head, closed his eyes, and covered his head with his wings. Nothing could really wake him from his slumber. Not even a rock- the Absol had tried when his boredom drove him to near insanity. Koja had no urge to leave unless Shadow had a similar feeling. Somehow he had set himself to be her guardian…Or something like that.

Koja stood up, inclined to do some more wandering. Walking away from Shadow he looked around. He'd looked and wandered so much that each tree, plant, and bush became as familiar to him as the back of his paw. Walking around, the Absol was about to walk back when he saw something. A large boulder stood out slightly amidst the trees, bushes and plants. How did he miss that? Curious, he investigated, going nearer. It was in fact, not a huge boulder but a rock cave jutting out of the ground. Though he had no idea why, the Pokemon found himself creeping silently into the cave. With perfect night vision, it was easy for the Absol to see the three Pokemon that were sleeping in the darkness

Koja wondered what they might be as most non-dark Pokemon sleep at night, not a day. But then he suddenly realized what they were- Mightyeenas. How could he have forgotten? Koja chuckled softly to himself. He was a dark Pokemon who was not nocturnal- or he was well on the way. Wandering around the world, the Absol found it easier to travel by day and sleep by night. He would be more vulnerable to any enemies if he slept during the daytime. But no matter how long, the Absol kept this strange habit for a Pokemon of his type, there was nothing like the energy he felt when the moon came out. Shadow also wasn't nocturnal but then…she was REALLY strange.

"HEY!" cried or rather screeched a very familiar voice. Koja turned around just in time to see a bundle of dark grey fur hurl towards him. It landed on his head and the fur unraveled into none other than little Pep. Shadow and Skye had by now this time walked into the cave, though they stayed to the lighter areas of the cave, avoiding the solid darkness.

"I'm so glad to see you! I went back to the path and I couldn't find you guys so I though you might have been eaten by a rabid jigglypuff or I was dreaming and I didn't really see you guys at all but then I saw footprints leading back here so I guess you are real and I didn't dream and you were eaten by a rapid jigglypuff!"

"Right…." Koja looked uneasily at the Mightyeena's who were beginning to stir.

"Rabid jigglypuff..?" Shadow blinked.

"Yeah, yeah I know cos'-"

"Pep! Shush!" Koja clapped a paw over the Poochyeena's mouth but the puppy kept ranting and chattering through his mouth.

"Oh you just can't take a hint you-"the Absol stopped in mid sentence as he saw Shadow glare at him.

"You?" Pep questioned.

"Ah… cute little thing!" Koja forced a smile.

"I know she's such a darling isn't she? I could just eat her up!"

Koja spun around to see a female Mightyeena before him.

"Aww, you wouldn't eat me up!" said Pep running over to greet her evolution.

"I could I could I could!" said the Mightyeena, tickling Pep and grinning- displaying a set of white (not to mention sharp and dangerous) teeth.

Shadow and Koja stood rigid, tense for battle-was the Pokemon being sarcastic? Cannibalism was quite unheard of these days but hey, anything was possible.

"Aw, Skye! Good to see you!" A Male Mightyeena had clapped the skarmory's back. He turned to meet Shadow and Koja who were looking around anxiously.

"Where did you find my sister in the forest?" the third Mightyeena, obviously the youngest of the group had come over. Shadow turned her head to meet him, her blue eyes gazing at him. Sister? Surely there was a mistake. Koja looked the same, though a little more baffled as he looked around.

"Pep, don't run off again!" the female Mightyeena chided, "Don't do that you hear?"

"Yes Mother…" the two words were spoken very apologetically.

"So who is this?" asked Pep's Father observing Koja, especially his legs.

"Where did you find my sister in the forest? "repeated the other Mightyeena.

Skye just nodded. The young male Mightyeena caught Shadow gazing at him and after holding eye contact for a few moments, the Mightyeena quickly looked away at Koja.

At this point of time, Pep decided to speak, "So Mother, Father, Leo, this is Shadow, Koja, and Skye who all found me in the forest quite far off from the river….

The Poochyeena paused for breath, "AND Shadow, Koja this is my Mother, Father, and my best best brother ever Leoooooooo!"

Pep plumped down on the floor, in the middle of the group of Pokemon, unaware of the cold atmosphere. Skye ruffled his wings uncomfortably, finding great interest in preening himself.

"So you are Pep's friends?" questioned Pep's father quite coolly.

"Y-yeah…" stammered Shadow. Both she and Koja had retreated against the cave wall.

"Pep, show Skye and your two new friends for a drink in the river. Let them refresh themselves before coming back!" directed Pep's father.

"Yes Father!" said Pep dutifully, "Come on you guys! The river is really really really cool!"

Skye hopped out of the cave, his uneasiness disappearing a bit with a shake of the wings. Shadow fell in next to Skye and sometimes passing a word to him while still following Pep who was leading the way to the river. Koja took up the rear end occasionally throwing glances back at the rock cave. Pep's father watched them leave to be out of hearing range before turning to his mate.

"What are they doing here?" he asked, "One of them is an outcast!"

"I don't know," she said softly, "You may have seen wrong- they could be normal battle scars, dear."

But even she looked doubtful and she traced a pattern in the dirt with one of her paws.

"No normal Pokemon at that age even normally has a battle scar!" he said hotly.

"Don't over react, dear… After all, they did bring Pep back…" Pep's mother sighed as she added, "Please, can you calm down…?"

"I'm not over reacting! AND I AM CALM!" growled her mate,"Besides, have you seen that Umbreon? I haven't met an Umbreon with eyes like that! It's not natural."

Pep's mother quietly shuddered, "Maybe you're right on that one. But they are Pep's friends."

"The whole forest is 'Pep's Friends'!" snorted her mate,"Get them out of here! Who knows what they might do with our daughter?"

"Father's right, Mother- they both seem to be… dangerous."

Their son came out from the back of the cave. He was more of the quiet type, only speaking when needed. Though he was quite young, he seemed mature beyond his years and when needed to, could fight. Leo had evolved…too early some of their neighbors and friends in the forest would say. He was too young, too mature- a reason why Pep's family did not live in a pack. They left one and the pack to be nice, was more joyful then sorrowful to see them leave. Afterwards it was more there was rule about him- Leo bothered no one so no one bothered Leo- and his family really.

Pep was more of an exception really- she was so bouncy and giggly and happy that it was hard to ignore her. It was like ignoring a Pidgey squawk in your ear. Very hard. So most of the Pokemon of the forest were more or less Pep's friends. But back to the present…

"Dangerous or not they're quite young! Don't get paranoid! They're the about the same age as Leo…" Pep's mother said uneasily.

"Paranoid! Our daughter has been kidnapped, pokenapped, captured by both humans and Pokemon for too many times that we've lost count! WE HAVE A RIGHT TO BE PARANOID!"

The male Mightyeena had forced his mate back up against the cave wall growling with fury. His mate finally looked up from the pattern in the dirt that she had been drawing. She scuffed it away with one paw and looked at her mate.

"WHATEVER YOU THINK THOSE TWO STILL SAVED OUR DAUGHTER! SHE WENT MISSING!" cried Pep's Mother, her fur rising. The Mightyeena stepped up to her mate and they both growled and glared at each other.

"THE ABSOL IS AN OUTCAST! POKEMON AREN"T OUTCASTS FOR NO REASON!" thundered Pep's Father. His voice echoed around the cave walls.

"FOR THE SAKE OF THE GODS!"

"They're back." reported Leo, looking unawares that his parents who screaming and shouting at each other... Cool and calm, that was Leo. His eyes were fixed on a small group of Pokemon- Pep was chattering and skipping about while Skye, Shadow and that Absol, Koja his name was, were lagging behind. The two Mightyeenas abruptly stopped and snapped back to a friendly polite mode with no trace of anger left in them. Pep's father walked to the front of the cave, leaving his mate to contemplate on their conversation.

"Ah there you are! Feeling better?" asked Pep's father politely.

"I don't think they are Father-none of them really went in the river except Shadow and even then all she did was bathe her paws!" complained Pep.

"That will do Pep, that will do." Said Pep's mother coming out of the darkness and ushering her daughter away.

Koja noticed a glance from Pep's father at his legs and looked down, thankful that he had rubbed mud into his fur to hide his scars.

"Young Absol, you have some mud on your legs, come let me brush it off! Tsk tsk, and I though you'd freshen up at the river!" Pep's father's smile was plastered onto his face.

"Oh no sir, it's quite alright! I'm used to it!" stammered Koja seeing through the cheerful voice of the Mightyeena. He wanted to see the scars.

"No trouble at all!" the Mightyeena came forward and brushed the mud off the Absol's legs. The mud which had dried in the sun easily came off and there it was- a small though visible scar in the shape of an 'X'. Though hardly audible, a tiny gasp came from Peep's mother. Even Pep's Father and Leo stopped to look.

Shadow swallowed hard. This was going to get very uncomfortable for the two of them. But then, now that she remembered, she too was an outcast. She quickly stopped her own glance at one of her legs and a pair of red eyes from Leo met her blue icy ones. She tried to look innocent but she knew that Pep's brother could see through her guise.

"So where are you and this Absol going?" asked Pep's mother hurriedly.

"Oh we don't know ma'am…Just wandering I suppose!" said Shadow, acutely aware of a pair of eyes looking at her own icy pair.

"So I suppose you better be going?" asked Leo moving forward.

"Yes, yes, we mustn't keep you from your travels, "said Pep's father also moving forward.

Pep's Mother slowly took a step forward unsurely and as she did she finished the wall that blocked Koja and Shadow from the cave and Pep. Skye stood behind them looking immensely worried.

"I suppose…" said Shadow, "Come on Koja- we mustn't inconvenience Pep's family any longer. Thank you."

Shadow nodded her head in a quick, polite gesture before turning around and headed away from the cave, bounding and running. Koja after looking from Pep's family to Shadow nodded quickly to and fainting out and in, he was soon beside Shadow.

"Was that a wise thing to do?" questioned Pep's Mother.

Pep Father opened his mouth to answer but Leo answered first, "No- It wasn't."

* * *

YES!

I'M GOING TO WRITE IN ALL CAPS NOW! YES! YES! YES!

I'M DONE! LET'S CELABRATE!

I'VE FINALLY DONE THIS REVISION THING!

W00T! W00T!

Ahem. Ok. Now… I am going to continue writing and remain calm…

YES! DONE! FINALLY! AFTER SO LONG!

Sorry about that.


	13. Chapter 13: Genie in a Pokeball

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**To the readers who were reading this scrap of writing before I did my revision thing…**

**Thank you so much for waiting!**

**Sorry for the long wait too!**

**I know I've been really slowly… It's been like three months on this revision thing!**

**But at last, Moonlight's Shadow is back.**

**An important advice from me is that you might want to kind of skim read the chapters again.**

**I've rearranged some ideas (though not the main ones) to make the story work better and clues for what might happen next have kind of been added.**

**So yeah. But even if you don't re-read, it'll be all right mainly. Just don't hit me with a hammer when you read a bit of the story that kind of doesn't make sense!**

**Whether my writing has improved and you, the reader is actually in for a better read is probably up to you…**

**Hopefully the revision thing was worth it!**

**Again thank you so much for waiting!**

**-StarDragon X**

Finally. I'm not doing revision work! Here I go with the next chapter!

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 13:

Genie in a Pokeball

* * *

Koja couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it…

"Wanna play Koja? Wanna play?"

The furball was… back. It was a disaster… Just when he thought the thing was gone forever, she had returned… It was strange, unnatural, and absolutely annoying.

"No." the Absol's answer was stern.

Koja sighed. He and Shadow had heard rumors about an Alakazam in the forest so after leaving Pep to her family and Skye, the pair had set out to track down the Pokemon. And how an Alakazam would help Shadow in finding her parents, the Absol had no idea. But he was just thankful for the absence of Pep so he could regain his peace. But sadly, that peace lasted for around four to five days.

That was when the abomination had returned to finish Koja off. Riding on Skye, the Poochyeena had suddenly swooped down to meet the two of them. She had grinned and explained after much convincing and asking done by Skye and herself her parents allowed her to travel with them.

Shadow had smiled- Koja had tried to smile politely. The Absol had succeeded though it looked more like he was snarling… Fortunately, Pep being Pep didn't notice and grinned at both Pokemon. Skye after seeing that Pep was fine, took off and flew away.

That terrible incident had happened yesterday. Koja knew he was going to crack soon under Pep's babble and petty questions. The Absol answered them all using the same answer…

"Why is the sky blue Koja?"

"Because the Gods made it that way."

"Why do I have a heart?"

"Because the Gods made it that way."

And on and on it went. Pep saw this as some type of game unfortunately. A wave of relief flooded into Koja as he saw the Poochyeena trot off to go and 'play' with Shadow. The Absol had no idea how the Umbreon did not lose her temper…

Shadow just merely nodded and smiled, while once in a while giving a response or an answer to Pep. It wasn't long, however before Pep trotted back to Koja and asked a question.

"I asked Shadow 'why I had a heart' like I asked you and she had a different answer to you!" The Poochyeena's brow furrowed in thought, "You said 'because the Gods made it that way' and she said, 'because otherwise I wouldn't be alive'."

Koja grimaced and glared at Shadow. The Umbreon merely grinned back at him.

"_She knew this would happen! I'm going to kill her…"_

"That means one of you is wrong or that one of you just isn't very smart as the other or that you're both right and I'm confusing myself or it's neither and I have no idea of why you both had different answers!"

The babble continued on in the same way. It was a fierce battle. Koja's mind was fighting its hardest but Pep had the advantage with her high pitched voice which kept cutting through Koja's mental barriers. So finally, when the Absol decided that he had lost, he relented and tried his normal tactic that almost never worked.

"Why don't you go tell all this to Shadow?" Koja tried to put his nicest voice on.

"Because she's up ahead and you're here." Replied the Poochyeena before continuing to babble on.

Koja glanced to where the Poochyeena had pointed with her paw. Shadow was up ahead, scanning the forest area from her vantage point at the top of a hill. The Umbreon wasn't what you would call beautiful, but she was pretty, in her own sort of way. The evening sun made Shadow even more beautiful and for once her eyes didn't seem to deter her physical beauty. The Golden Ringlets shone and the black fur gleamed.

A gold tipped ear twitched and in another second, Shadow bounded back to meet Pep and Koja.

"Nothing… No Alakazam like what we were told…"

"Alakazam's normally travel by teleportation. I doubt we'll catch it…" replied Koja.

Suddenly, it hit the Absol. The Poochyeena had stopped talking! Yes! Miracle! Wonderful! Once in a lifetime achievement! Yes! Yes! Ye-

"What's this? It's shiny and it's red and-"

"_Noooo!"_ was the mental cry of the Absol. But Koja soon turned thoughts to what the object was…

"A Pokeball?"

Koja bounded over to where Pep sniffing to foreign object.

"What would those things being doing in the middle of the woods…" Shadow murmured.

"You never know," shrugged Koja, "Humans are pretty strange."

Pep in the meanwhile was finding her new discovery a lot of fun. The Poochyeena had never encountered a thing like the Pokeball. The bite Pokemon found out that the object could roll around and was engrossed in seeing what she could do with it…

"Pep don't touch-"Koja's words were too late.

The release button on the Pokeball was pressed accidentally by the Poochyeena and a red light appeared. The Pokeball opened and a split second later…

"That's just…"

"Impossible…" finished Shadow

"Hey there!"

Pep waved her paw amiably at the Alakazam.

-------------------------------------------------------

Saffron City, Johto Region

-------------------------------------------------------

"Look… I'm really sorry about the Pokemon Center trouble Grandma…"

"You should be! Do you know how much trouble and embarrassment this has cost me!"

"Well…"

Sami was standing with her arms crossed near the main door of her grandmother's house. With Inferno and a backpack sitting beside her.

"But my mind's made up. I need to get out of Saffron. I'm going hiking- to visit my old teacher. Once this has all settled down, I'll come back. Simple."

"Simple?" Sami's grandmother shook her head sternly, "There's a bad weather forecast for those mountains Sami! Go somewhere else!"

"I've traveled through storms before…" Sami sighed, "Besides, I'm going to the mountains bordering Johto and Kanto Grandma! I know that mountain range like the back of my hand!

"You might get hurt… It's a bad storm!"

"I'm really sorry grandma. But I'm going to those ranges whether you like it or not. I have to. Besides, it's only a few weeks. I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

The trainer kissed her grandmother on the cheek and turned to head out the door.

"You mother wouldn't approve of this you know…"

Sami turned around slowly- ever so slowly.

"Grandma. Mom is dead. I know she wouldn't approve of this. She didn't even approve of Inferno or anything I did as a Pokemon Trainer! And she's dead grandma. Don't act like she was alive. Anyhow, I've got to go. I want to make it to the mountains before dark… "

After a final goodbye, the trainer left out the door with Inferno after slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

-------------------------------------------------------

Forest near Saffron City

-------------------------------------------------------

"Finally… I though that I would be trapped in there forever…"

The Alakazam stretched before turning to notice the three Pokemon that where staring at him in awe.

"I suppose you want something since you freed me… I'm what you might call a sort of genie…" The Psi Pokemon laughed before she continued, "You can ask for one thing then poof- I'm off."

"Oh! Oh! I do! I do!" Pep waved her paw vigorously.

She was shushed by both Shadow and Koja.

"Hurry up!" whispered Koja, "He's not going to wait all day you know!"

"Well! I'm still recovering from the fact that this is amazing!" shot back Shadow back the Umbreon cleared her throat and spoke, "Sir-"

"I'm a she…" the Alakazam's eyes narrowed.

Oh. That was unexpected.

"Oh…I'm really sorry Miss!"

"I am not a miss either. I have children and a mate."

Oh. That was unexpected. At this point of time Koja took over.

"I'm really sorry Madam…"

Koja nudged Shadow.

"Yes, we really are! Umm… I happen to be searching for my parents…"

Now that the moment had come, Shadow was finding it hard to even string a sentence together.

"And?"

"And she, and she, needs you to-"

Pep's voice was cut off again by Koja's paw.

"I was wondering if you had any knowledge of them…"

Shadow was by now finding this all very uncomfortable as she realized that there was almost no way that the Alakazam would be able to find her parents for her…

"Do you know their names? What they look like?"

"No… But they should look kind of like me…?"

The Alakazam sighed. Why did the Pokemon who freed her always end up asking silly and inane questions? But…

"Well… This is just my guess but you look to be about two years old."

"I'm a yearling…"

"Well you're two years old." The spoon-wielding Pokemon ignored Shadow's last statement and continued, "Anyway, around two years ago, a couple moved into some mountains. They apparently came from a forest not so far from where we are. They were separated from their pack and child."

It fit. Other than when it happened. Apparently Shadow's parents had been separated from their pack two years ago? Shadow was a year old. She was separated from her parents when she was few weeks old… It didn't fit. And besides, the flood happened a year ago so it just didn't fit.

"I'm a year old." Repeated Shadow.

"Well you sincerely look to me like you're two years old- same age as your Absol friend."

Something struck Shadow then…

"Koja… Have you heard of the flood?"

"Yeah… It happened when I was really young. Two years ago- around then."

"Yes that flood." The Alakazam shook her head, "That wiped out a lot of Pokemon that flood did."

Shadow ignored the Alakazam, "Did another flood happen a year ago…?"

"Definitely not. Otherwise it's no flood that I know of. What are you getting at anyway?"

Shadow swallowed. When she was really young there she had being carried away from her parents by a major flood. She was found by the White Paw Pack and had been adopted. That had been a year ago.

Shadow shook her head- it really didn't make sense…

"You're two years old little one. Whether it makes sense to you or not."

With that statement the Alakazam closed her eyes for a brief moment, used her powers to make the pokeball which held her captive explode, then teleported and disappeared.

* * *

Finally… Done! This is Chapter 13. Hopefully it isn't scrappy and finally please leave a review. But then maybe everyone HAS forgotten about this story… Sniffles.

Oh well. Just leave a review and come back for the next chappie!

-StarDragon X


	14. Chapter 14: Mount Silver

W00t. Yay! One review for chappie 13!

Thanks A WHOLE LOT **Foxyjosh**!

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 14:

Mount Silver

* * *

This was it. It was the same familiar breeze, the same familiar air, the same familiar sky, the same familiar mountains. Hopefully they wouldn't meet them. Koja allowed himself a small dark smile. And if they did meet them? Well… They'd have a surprise coming towards them- a big surprise.

The three of them took a few days to reach the mountains… The area where Shadow's parents might be. Shadow herself was looking tense but excited, hoping that she'd find her parents here. Pep was annoyingly happy and hyper- as always. And himself? He was tense and always on the look out for them.

But now was not the time to be standing stock still thinking. Now was the time to get out of the rain. They needed shelter- badly. Koja, knowing the area pretty well, knew that if the three of them traveled up the mountain any farther, they would hit snow. They would also hit a blizzard, looking at the weather. Articuno must be about…

Koja scanned the area, his eyes looking for a rock cave or anything that would shield them from the rain. Already, rivers of mud were flowing down the mountainside and the rain was freezing cold. But no matter how hard the Absol looked, there was no shelter here. They would have to travel further up.

"We have to go further up the mountain," he called, "No shelter here! Shadow- carry Pep!"

Assuming the position of leader, as after all he was the oldest and the most familiar with their surroundings, Koja watched as Pep grumpily clung onto Shadow's back. For the first time in his life, the Absol saw the Poochyeena mutter angrily about him.

The trio trudged up the mountain side, Koja's senses becoming more alert by the moment. They lived around here… He and Shadow were in no state to battle either- they were tired form traveling.

It wasn't long before Koja felt his paws touch a freezing white substance- snow. Pep was ecstatic, while clinging onto Shadow with one hand, the other paw of the puppy was swatting energetically at the falling snowflakes. Shadow, strangely was paying little attention to the snow… It was as if she'd seen snow before… But the Absol took little notice of that. He was just the glad the blizzard hadn't started yet. They badly needed shelter.

"Koja!' Shadow's tired voice called out and the Absol spun around, "Look!"

A paw pointed at a tiny light far away. It was like a lighthouse, a beacon, shining brightly through the snow.

"Let's go over there!" Pep grinned, "That looks like a fire! And I'm cold…"

"Leave it to Koja. He knows best…" replied Shadow, "Have a nap. You won't fall off."

Pep snuggled into Shadow's neck and shivered but with no effort closed her eyes to sleep. Shadow tucked her ears delicately around Pep's tiny body, making them act as a crude blanket.

"So… Where to?"

"That l-" Koja hesitated from speaking.

He knew that a good choice in this situation would be to head towards that light…But it could also be bad choice meaning that there could be some unfriendly creatures near that light or even worse… Them.

"So?"

"Let's head for that light… I guess."

Trudging through the snow, Shadow shook her head. There was a possibility that her parents lived here, on the mountain? It was crazy… Snow, rain, rockslides, avalanches… Your life expectancy would drop dramatically if you lived here…

That Alakazam… Again Shadow shook her head. It was almost driving the saneness out of her body… Telling her that she was two years old… That her parents lived around here… Shadow sighed and bounded after Koja. She had gotten behind.

"Stop."

He was getting more and more tense and paranoid. Not because of humans, not because of the weather, but because of something else. The Absol crept into the cave, slinking into the darker areas to blend into the shadows.

Shadow's ears pricked up as she heard dialog, conversation. The Umbreon waited anxiously, trying to restrain herself from going into the caver herself. But at long last, Koja appeared and smiled.

"It's all right. Go in."

Puzzled, the Umbreon stepped into the cave, enjoying the sudden warmth she felt and the pure enjoyment from getting out of the darkness. It was… Sami? The teen was leaning against the cave wall, drinking from a flask and Inferno, Ditto, and Zan were out. All three Pokemon were resting by the fire. Standing next to Sami was a Slowking who with his many wrinkles, looked to be quite old.

"Oh."

This was unexpected. Very unexpected.

"Hi." Inferno nodded his head in greeting. Zan and Ditto made their greetings, but kept quiet after that.

"Fancy that. Didn't expect you two here…" a small smile made its way to Sami's lips.

"Not two… Three…" Pep though heavily sedated, struggled to raise her head.

"Where did you meet… her?"

"Somewhere…" replied Shadow distantly.

It would take too long to tell the whole story. And besides that, she didn't feel like spinning a tale at the moment. She just wanted to rest and sleep.

"How interesting…" the Slowking entered the conversation, "Your names are Koja, Shadow and Pepper?"

"PEP! NOT PEPPER!" shrieked the Poochyeena but then immediately dropped back into her drowsy state and seemed to have gone back to sleep. The Slowking merely smiled at Pep's outburst. Koja stiffened. How did he know his name? Let alone Shadow's and Pep's?

"Sir. What is your name?"

"I have no name. Do not call me anything. I have my reasons."

"But-"protested the Absol except Sami silenced him with a glance.

There were a few moments of silence, the atmosphere settling into a very somber and grave feeling. Shadow took Pep to the fire and set her down, half amused that Ditto was actually looking serious.

"So… What are you doing here? Coincidental or…" Sami trailed off.

"I might ask the same as you." Replied Koja coolly but added, "We're here to find Shadow's parents."

"I'm here to visit my teacher," Sami gestured to the Slowking, "There are many Pokemon here… How do you expect to find them?"

"Where there's a will there's a way." replied Shadow.

And that was the end of that conversation.

So this was it. Mount Silver. Were her parents here? Would she finally find some answers? And Koja… Shadow glanced at the Absol- who or what was he so afraid of? Lying down near the fire the Umbreon thought back to what had happened over the past few days.

The Alakazam had vanished promptly after answering her question and they were left in that clearing. They took a vote to see what to do next. Koja voted to just ignore the Alakazam, as he thought she had been lying. Pep voted to follow the Alakazam's instructions- she thought the Alakazam was cool and was telling the truth. Shadow thought similar, but left out the cool part.

So, grudgingly, Koja became the navigator. Being the one who had traveled the most, the Absol knew exactly which mountain range to search. But the Dark Pokemon did it warily- very warily. It was almost like there was something dangerous out there that Koja loathed coming here…

They had tramped through forests, rivers, and swamps… They had journeyed far and it had taken them an exact total of four nights to get here… They actually could've made it in three but there had been a heavy rainfall yesterday, forcing them to take shelter.

Well, forcing Koja and Pep to take shelter. Shadow had just sat out there in the rain… No shelter, no nothing. Koja was calling her an idiot and Pep was looking very worried for her sanity. But nonetheless, Shadow wasn't an idiot and no one should have worried for her sanity.

After all, what was wrong with a little bit of rain? That exact statement had been made to Koja but the Absol replied that only lunatics prance around in a rainstorm. But that still didn't stop Shadow from staying outside.

Even with the flooding that separated Shadow from her parents… Strangely, Shadow loved water. One would've thought that such a traumatizing event would have made the Umbreon have a phobia of water for the rest of her life. But if one thought such a thought, one would be wrong.

Before that fateful day, the day that Shadow's evolved, there was only one thing that would get Shadow any appreciation or acknowledgement from her pack. Swimming. It was her forte, her talent. She was like a rapidash in the water- no one could beat her. Maybe the older Vaporeons could, but they were probably the only ones. This was the reason that Shadow wanted so badly to evolve to a Vaporeon. But she didn't- she became her worse nightmare.

And then there was also the question of precisely how old she was… Was she a year old? Or was she two years old… Koja had already told her that there was a slim chance of her being in the two years old category. Her maturity level was quite high for a yearling though she would be on the small size for two years old it could fit…

Other then the flood- with separated her from her parents when she was at a very young age. And the flood happened one year ago… It didn't make sense. She had few memories of her childhood with her parents… They were the memories that kept the Umbreon going at her search for her parents.

But were her parents actually still alive? It was possible that they were dead… But- the Umbreon did not accept that fact, they had to be alive… But even if they were alive would they still want her? Would they still accept her? The thoughts came tumbling into Shadow's mind…

They would want her. They would love her. The stubborn bone in Shadow's body made the past two thoughts reality to Shadow. If she had no parents, no pack… There would be no life for Shadow.

* * *

MWEEHEEHEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! DONE!

I'm planning to start really heating things up in the next chapter… So yeah.

Oh… Please, please, pretty please, pretty please with a cherry on top review?

Thanks!


	15. Chapter 15: An Unexpected Visit

To the Reader:

It has come to my direct attention from review that this story plus its characters may get a little on the Mary Sue-ish side. This is probably because when I started out about a year ago- I was wasn't that good a writer… But now that I've gotten better, I've realized how Mary Sueish some of it is and tried to change it- thus the revision phrase. But, I couldn't alter too much… Meaning the story would get changed around- so yeah… Please bear with me if I get Mary Sueish and point it out to me! Thank you!

Thanks also to **Farla** and **Foxyjosh** who reviewed! Thanks a lot!

If ya wanna review feel free. I have a feeling that my revision stage has put most people off this story… Or maybe it's just the story! Thanks again, for just even reading…!

**DISCLAIMER: **The disclaimer for this chapter is not here! For the disclaimer follow these steps. 1) Go to > Video Games > Pokemon > First Story you see.Read the discalimer in the story. Didn't get me? Oh well.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 15:

An Unexpected Visit

* * *

Amazingly, the sudden blizzard that had came yesterday, vanished and was replaced by warm, almost even hot weather. Snow was melting in places and it was just plain unnatural. Especially since it was just about winter. Sami was looking tense and nervous, almost as tense as Koja. What was going on?

Shadow had taken little notice of the weather, or basically anything for that matter. She was looking for her parents. The next morning, the Umbreon had vanished at dawn while the others were still sleeping, and returned at noon. Though they were quite worried and a bit angry for her just going of like that, they didn't really blame her for doing so. After all, this was the matter of her parents.

After lunch, Shadow proceeded to leave the den but was stopped by Sami, "Take it easy… There's no rush in finding them you know?"

The teenager had heard the whole story about the Alakazam and everything so she had a pretty good idea on what was going on… But she had a suspicion that… Well that Shadow wasn't going to find her parents here… They could even be dead. But nothing seemed to push that particular thought into Shadow's mind.

"I'll be back by sun down… Maybe earlier… Maybe later. I can take care of myself."

"Go then…"

As the teenager watched the Umbreon bound off, she shook her head. Shadow sure could take care of herself… In fact, she was still worried about what Sabrina had said to her about Shadow… It was… slight unnerving. She hadn't talked to her master about it yet…. Maybe she should…

Koja glanced at Sami and then back to Shadow who was by now almost out of sight. Shaking his head, the Absol lay down, head on paws. Beside him, Inferno was sitting upright, taking in the surroundings. Pep was taking a nap, thankfully. It was unnatural. The weather they were experiencing now was… suited for summer- yet the weather yesterday was suited for winter. Unnatural.

"She could actually be two years old you know…"

"Eh?" roused out of his thoughts, Koja glanced at Inferno, "What d'ya say?"

"She could be two years old… Your age."

"Oh?"

"Her maturity level is of a two year old- your age. But then your maturity level is higher then it normally should be…"

"That's a good thing of course."

"On your case yes, Shadow's- no. It's mixing up her history."

"… Explain…?"

Lazily, the Houndoom grinned at Koja, "If she's two years old, which I am assuming she is, it means that some part of what she knows as her past is incorrect. But if she's a yearling that means that her past of being separated from her parents by a flood is nonexistent."

"And this all means…"

"That there's something very strange going on with her." The Slowking entered the conversation, his eyes set firmly on the horizon.

"Yeah… That she is… I've been told that she may not even be an Umbreon…" Sami stated, twirling a stick with one finger.

"What?" Koja was instantly alert, "That's… not right."

"Why? It's quite logical." The Slowking smiled grimly.

"She just a slightly abnormal Umbreon who's got amnesia…!" protested Koja.

But he himself knew it wasn't quite true. Shadow wasn't slightly abnormal- she wasn't even just abnormal. Shadow was strange. It was illogical to state that she had amnesia. If she had amnesia she would have blank spaces in her mind- Shadow didn't. She had an incorrect past. Which really muddled things up.

--------------------------------------------------

Shadow smiled gently seeing a pair of Butterfrees dance in the wind. The insect like Pokemon called out to each other happily, gliding and swaying through the air. She didn't just leave the others to find her parents. She had a good idea that they were not to be found here. She came out here by herself to think. To try to tell herself that she knew exactly who she was. Except, the problem was that Shadow's mind was turning into a huge jumble.

It just didn't happen. Your past just didn't make itself up… It was impossible. But it fit… so nicely. She had heard Sami talking… She wasn't an Umbreon… or was she? Yet it would also fit oh so nicely if she weren't an Umbreon. After all, none of her characteristics fit and apparently there also some other factors…

This was getting deep… So-

A blaze of heat streaked past Shadow and left the nearby grass black and sizzling. The temperature seemed to double. But before any intelligent though came to the Umbreon's mind, a blaze of intense cold streaked past her, leaving traces of snow and ice in the grass. The warm temperature vanished and was replaced by frosty winds and a cold atmosphere. This time, the Umbreon managed to get an intelligent thought out…

"_What?"_

Maybe not that intelligent… But before another thought was processed a black of bright light streaked past her leaving Shadow with a paralyzing electrical shock. The cold temperature was still there though the snow had turned to water and it seemed to tingle with electricity. Swallowing, Shadow started to bound back to the den. Things were getting strange… Was this what Koja was so afraid of?

It didn't take long for the Umbreon to be in seeing distance of the cave where the others were. But… there was something… Very wrong going on here. There were colors bounding everywhere, ice, electricity, and fire running amok… Shadow ran faster and faster… Reaching the cave in a matter of seconds…

And there… Well the sight was something you didn't see everyday… Standing before Shadow were the three Elementals. Also known as Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Also classified to be the Gods by many.

A sudden shove made Shadow kneel down on the ground. Yes… She had to kneel… Or at least bow. They were sacred, these three.

"Greetings mortals." Was the first thing said by Moltres.

"We have a grave matter to discuss with you." Continued Articuno.

"Something which very coincidentally involves most of you here in this cave." Finished Zapdos.

No one spoke… They were too busy being awed that their bodies and minds were unable to function properly

"First off. Slowking- Are you the one who made the prophecy many years ago?" the question was spoken quickly and briefly.

"Yes…"

"Good. Then we have come to the right place."

"Umbreon."

Shadow's heard jerked up.

"Your holiness- how may I assist you?"

"You are the on afraid of shadows are you not?"

"Yes your holiness."

"Excellent. You must all know… That you are going to get involved in a war. Between the Gods and the Unknown. We have a faint idea of who the enemy is."

"Absol."

Koja turned to face Moltres, the God who last spoke, "Yes mighty one?"

"You are to find your pack. They are in this region. You must convince them to help us fight."

"And if I do not obey?"

"The world will be no more ruled by the Gods that you know."

"I am an outcast. I am afraid-"

"You have been given an order. You are expected to do it. You will be able to do it."

"Human. Do not tell any of your race of this. Get involved minimally. Your kind seem to have an ability to destroy easily."

"The rest of you. Go to your packs, you families, your friends. Rouse them. Tell them to join us and fight. When you have done so. Meet us here."

"Take the feathers. There are three of them. They will summon one us if there are complications."

Dropped on the ground were three feathers. One an icy blue, one a fiery red, and one bright yellow. Sami, trembling picked them up and let them rest in the palms of her hands.

"We must take our leave now. You have our blessing."

--------------------------------------------------

The visit from the Gods had been brief. It had been unexpected. It was also very strange. It was almost as if the Gods were stereotyped- the Gods should have appeared powerful, mighty, loud and strong. Instead the three came and left quietly. Their tone of voices seemed tense and scared. It was what you would expect of a God or Goddess. There was no display of powers, or dazzling shows of might. There were no threats or anything to persuade them to do what they asked.

Sami would have immediately suspected that the three who came earlier were imposters- except that from the lore and myths that her master had told her… Gods were unique- no one could copy their form. IT was unheard of. And… They were confused. They had been given orders so briefly that they were still recovering from the shock of just seeing a God, let alone three.

They had little information to begin with. They had no idea of what was going on. The Gods were vague. They no time for questions. Why? And apparently Koja had been thinking the same thoughts.

"How unorthodox. Or rather- unexpected. I'm still… very confused."

"Wonder no more…" The Slowking cleared his throat, "I have the answers."

Shadow blinked. Sami glanced at her old master. He was the one who taught her many things, one being Pokespeech. His was incredibly wise- if not reclusive and not very sociable and quite… blunt. Pep was amazingly… Still sleeping. She had slept through the whole thing. Hopefully the Gods didn't get offended.

"And how, may I ask do you know these answers?" asked Koja half frustrated.

"Because I was spoken to mentally. But you probably won't understand that so I'll move on. There is a dark force roaming around, and gathering Pokemon to fight our Gods. The group is kept in the dark, very few know of it and it is only recently that the Gods themselves have discovered this enemy."

"And…?"

"The dark force is stronger then it should be, his of her strength could be defined as Godly. This dark force of forces have are responsible for certain deaths, certain plots, certain dark things that have been kept a secret. Fortunately, they could not hide forever and the Gods know not what the force is but that it is simply evil."

"And we must gather up Pokemon to fight… No one would believe us. Heck, I don't even believe you!" snarled Inferno.

"You must. That is why the Gods may not have seemed like gods to you. It is because they are simply put, afraid. There is a possibility that all of them will be overthrown by one other God. There is also a number of evidence. For example… You."

The Slowking pointed at Shadow, "She is what is guessed to be part of a plot from this dark force. It is not sure exactly what that plot is, but no doubt, she has to be watched carefully by us."

Shadow swallowed. Watched. It was like she was the evil one… Like there was something hideously wrong with her…

"You don't need to watch me!" she protested, "You know I'm not going to do anything ridiculously insane…"

"I'm not worried about you doing anything," replied the Slowking coolly, "I am worried about a force that will take over you and do something."

"Why didn't they just tell all this to us themselves?" Koja cried, "It would be much easier."

"Do you think the Gods have time to spend hours explaining thing to mortals like you? Besides that, there isn't much time left. In fact, it may be too late already. We have to travel. Now!"

Sami sighed. This is what she meant by blunt. He was certainly very intelligent, this teachers of hers but he didn't see the point of… well, putting things nicely.

"This is absolute nonsense." Muttered Koja, "Let's go Shadow. We've stayed long enough anyway. Your parents obviously aren't here."

"But…" Shadow struggled to find words, "We can't leave… It's like forsaking the Gods! That's wrong! Extremely wrong!"

"Those were not the Gods. Just paranoid fools." Shot back Koja smoothly.

"Open your mind young Absol." The words were spoken quietly but determined.

Koja stiffened. A dark type was immune to psychic types like the Slowking. If he opened his mind, he would momentarily allow his powers to disperse for a moment. It was unheard of.

"No."

"I will not hurt you. All I want is to show you something mentally. You don't have to take away your barriers fully, just a bit."

"I'm warning you-"

Koja cut his own words short and it was clear that the Koja was somewhere else… The painfully long seconds went by, neither Koja nor the Slowking moving. The others didn't move, it was as if time had stopped completely. But it seemed that after a while time went back to its usual state and Koja swallowed.

"We have to move now Shadow." The sentence was spoken quietly, you had to almost strain your ears to hear it.

"Wha-?"

Whatever, that Slowking did to Koja… It was meant to make him agree and believe in everything not do nothing…

"We have to find my…" Koja's eyes hardened, "Pack. And tell them to join us."

* * *

Fwee… I might actually re-edit this chapter… I'm not sure if I explained things are wrote things well enough that the Gods didn't seem TOO un-godly… Feedback appreciated by the way. Oh… and, The story is either half or three-quarters through!

At least I think so anyway! Thanks for bothering to read anyhow!

-Star Dragon X


	16. Chapter 16: Forgive and Forget?

Sorry that I didn't update last week…Or the last… Bad case of writer's block and not being able to write anything- plus the fact that I've been… Busy. I know that's a lame excuse but that's okay! Yup Yup!

**WarTotodile:** Yeah- sorry I didn't reply to your review earlier, but here it is anyway. Thank you!

Righty o, Disclaimer.

**DISCLAIMER:** Read the following message backwards: Pokemon own not does StarDragon X

Thanks to everybody to reviewed and… WHEEE! I HAVE OFFICIALLY REACHED… 1,000 PAGE VIEWS ON THIS STORY! YAY! Ahem. Okay, on with the chapter…

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 16:

Forgive and Forget?

* * *

One certain Absol was dreading this very current day. To elongate and to complicate, this one certain Absol who was also known by some as Koja or outcast, was dreading to very day because this was the day to meet his pack and family who had so very bluntly stated that he should never return or see them again for if did that penalty would be death. Now that one's mind is properly and fully confused by the last long sentence, the story shall continue.

"We have to reach them by dark… Are you sure we're not lost?" came the voice of Shadow beside him.

"We're not lost… We're almost there."

What Koja also could have also said was that they could've have reached his pack much earlier in the day. They had set out from the den of that Slowking early this morning. They were well and very capable of reaching his pack by noon. It was now late afternoon. For Koja had been procrastinating, slowing every step, every second- there was a feeling of fear and tension in him that just would not go away. In fact, the Absol knew that they were at the top of the hill that led directly to his pack- it would take about a minute for them to reach his family…

Pep thankfully was not in the mood to annoy him today. She instead had found a new soul mate- Ditto. The two had really hit it off. But that wasn't all that surprising either- both were very similar in personality: Hyper activeness, acting like a lunatic, and being annoying… Yes- it wasn't surprising at all that they were two new found friends…

Zan and Inferno were deep into discussing battle strategies with each other, Sami sometimes joining into the conversation, adding a little here and there but otherwise stayed in the center of the group. They must have looked quite odd… A mini parade of Pokemon of all kinds and a human wandering around in the middle… But the Pokemon in the area if anything left them alone and interested themselves only in their own businesses.

Koja stopped as he reached the edge of the mountain path. His keen red eyes looked down as the path began to descend in a downwards manner. At the bottom of this crude well trodden path, was small valley with plenty of greenery in it. This was it. This was definitely it. He could not wait and fool around no longer, as he had done for the past few hours. He had his orders from the Gods- and they were definitely meant to be carried out.

"We're here."

"But we've being wandering here for ages and ages! We can't-" Pep's high pitched was cut of by the sound a paw sealing her mouth shut- Inferno's paw to be exact,

"Then let's get going," the Houndoom replied while adding in an undertone to Pep, "Don't annoy him! He's extremely tense, you hear me! Wait, where are you- Ugh… Children these days…"

The subjects of that statement were in a… They were in a very happy state of mind to say the least. Pep was now currently riding down the mountainside on the back of Ditto. Ditto had also conveniently transformed into a reasonably sized Golem, gathering speed as he went. There were squeals and yells of delight from where the two whooshed past the rest.

"Idiots." Was Zan's comment on the situation as he started to jog down the hill.

Koja led the group, and even though he was running fast, time seemed to slow down dramatically for the Absol. Shadow was bounding down the slope behind him, an anxious look in her eyes. Sami followed after the two and Zan and Inferno brought up the rear.

"Those stupid little-"

Koja glanced at Inferno, the one who had spoken and followed the Houndoom's gaze- the gaze at Pep and Ditto who were by now speeding at break neck speed down the mountainside. Both Pokemon had not thought or even considered the fact that they had no idea where they were going or that they had no idea if they were even going in the right direction. Or even that they were rolling down the mountainside so fast that their speed had turned into being highly dangerous and highly oh so Ditto and Pep-like.

No- Ditto and Pep didn't consider those facts until they same themselves nearing a Flareon who was staring up at them completely gob smacked. The others up the mountain were shouting now, shouting half angrily and annoyed and freshened. Pep shrieked in free but Ditto, try as he could was not able to slow down in anyway- or even remember that he was able to transform into another Pokemon form and get out of all this danger….

Seconds later, there was a loud noise of collision and yells and shrieks. From where he was, Koja could see that below amidst the dust clouds of the crash there was… Fire! Yes. A blaze of heat had erupted up from where Ditto and Pep had crashed into the Flareon. Koja quickened his pace.

This was not good. This was definitely not good… That Flareon was definitely a member of his… Old pack. There would be trouble- great big bad trouble. It didn't take long for he and the others to reach the crash spot. Ditto had transformed himself into an Onix, his long body placed in front of Pep to protect her. A dark look flickered across Koja's eyes when he saw exactly which Flareon that was. The one who was called his sister- his elder sister. Emotions flickered across the fire eon's face, crossing from surprise, to anger, to hurt and finally to no emotion at all.

It wasn't long before other began to emerge from caves and from all around the mountain side. Evees and their evolutions, Absols… They were going to be or were already surrounded. Awe was on the Pokemon's faces as they saw Ditto who was still into the form of a huge big long Onix. Koja smiled grimly- maybe they'd let them get away with it all for a little bit because they had such a huge big powerful Pokemon with them- or rather a Pokemon who looked powerful at least.

From out of the crowd where there was much murmurs and talk, came an Absol that was getting on in his years. That Absol was also known as the father of Koja. Koja's claws seemed to immediately grip the ground and his mouth was clamped shut as to not say anything he might regret later. So his father was the leader of the pack- how befitting. He probably lied his way to the top. Koja scowled upon thinking those particular thoughts.

A group of Pokemon stood behind Koja's father, not speaking but they seemed to stay in the shadows attracting not a lot of attention- but there was something about them… Something almost troubling- except that they looked so normal, so like on of the crowd that Koja ignored that group and focused on his father- and the job at hand.

"_Stay focused. Stay focused."_ Thought Koja, struggling to keep his mind on what exactly he was meant to do. But it was hard- familiar faces sprung up from just about everywhere in the crowd that surrounded him.

His friends… His old friends… His family… His old family… His pack… His old pack…

"So you've come back."

Try as he could, Koja could not keep the hurt that spawned on his facial features. His father's words were spoken emotionlessly, just as his sister had; the words were spoken like a monotone… No shock or surprise? Not even anger? Emotion of some sort was very much less worrying then no emotion at all…

"And you've brought outsiders and that human…" the word 'outsiders' and 'human' was spoken as if they were considered to so very foul and ugly…. Koja narrowed his eyes at the one who had spoken- it was an Umbreon from that group in the shadows.

The Absol saw Sami clutch the strap of her backpack in anger, in an attempt to stop to control her feelings- she had to stay focused like the rest of them. They were on thin ice here. He didn't want the pack to end up killing them all before he had a chance to explain his reasons and call Articuno with those feathers…

"If you're not going to speak- you know that the penalty for this is death."

A large Absol forced his way through the crowd, looking like a likely executioner.

"I do know that penalty- but I have come with a more an important task- one that requires me to break your petty rules."

"You have come back crazed also, this is-" Koja's father was broken off by his son.

"I have been sent by the Gods. I am not a crazed idiot. The Gods have requested me to request you to join them in a great battle against a great evil."

There was an immediate uproar of talking, snickering, laughing and the atmosphere turned to scorn and mockery at Koja. Koja's father had his eyes narrowed- some emotion at last, even if it wasn't a very positive one.

"It is unfortunate that you and your companions are so crazed and mad in your ways- we will make you death a quick one-"

"Sami! The feather quick!" Koja returned his gaze to his father after directing the command to the trainer, "Maybe this will change your mind."

The noise seemed to drop to silence as all attention was turned to Sami. Nervous, the trainer stepped out from the shadows and revealed an icy blue feather in the palm of her hand. Though most Pokemon seemed to be indignant at the presence of a human, they kept their mouths shut and their eyes on that single feather. Sami turned her hand to the ground, releasing the object. The feather started its descent.

It danced in the air, gliding slowly, very slowly downwards until at last feather and ground made contact. Time that had seemed to slow down before now seemed to speed up and double as a flash of blue blinded the surrounding creatures momentarily and the temperature suddenly dropped drastically. But no one really cared about that dark spots that played in the corners of their vision or the coldness that nipped harshly at their fur- they cared about the goddess standing before them.

Articuno- it was extremely dreamlike and extraordinary… Gods were never seen… Let alone by huge crowds of Pokemon… Brains clanked and churned working furiously out what was happening, and as they did, heads bowed, foreheads touched the ground and Koja smiled grimly.

"You called?" the celestial voice of Articuno, though soft, was well heard by all in the small valley.

"Yes, Mighty One. Unfortunately it seems that this pack does not with to join you in your fight against your enemy."

Koja's father broke in hurriedly, "Well, well… It is automatic for anyone in our pack when upon seeing an outcast from our pack to… Dispose of that Pokemon. Any words spoken from that creature are taken as lies- outcasts cannot be trusted. Forgive us."

"You forgiveness is granted. But it is true, as the Absol said, there is a great evil approaching us. I am unable to give you much information on this matter but you must gather all of your pack, your friends, your family. You must then meet at the den of the prophet."

There were murmurs of disapproval and Koja's father frowned, "The Slowking Prophet?"

"Indeed it is. Are my orders understood?"

"Yes."

"Then I will go- also," Articuno paused and glanced at Shadow, Koja, and the rest, "It is my decision that this Absol is no longer of the outcast rank. These newcomers are to be treated like honored guests and should be given adequate shelter and water. Is that also understood?"

"Yes, your honor."

"Then I will go. There are many things to be done still. I leave with my blessings upon you all."

And with that sentence, Articuno, Goddess of Ice, vanished in a flash of blue light.

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"Would you mind leaving here?" the words of Koja were laced heatedly with anger.

"No I wouldn't. Not until you understand." A young Flareon took a step closer to her brother, "We've all changed, Koja… We're truly sorry and what's happened in the past."

"I don't want to hear any more of your lies…"

"They're not lies. It's the truth. We were liars back then, maybe… But we were wrong! We know what we've done. We love you! You won't believe how happy we are to have you back Koja!"

Koja shook his head, "Another lie. You're only happy to have me back because I'm sent from the Gods. If I came back on my own I'd be killed by someone and you'd be hosting a party."

"No! No! No! Don't lie yourself! It's all so… wrong! We'd be happy to see you… We'd"

Koja cut his sister off angrily, sweeping his paw across the air, "Do you call this being happy to see me? This is the adequate shelter you have provided us? This cave stinks and is probably also the dirtiest place in this world!"

"It's-it's well… I know you don't believe us… But please! Understand. Father was also and is still put under pressure by the Council… They are the reason why your shelter is of such bad condition. Everyone in the pack is glad to see you and your friends- to an extent anyway… But, no one here but them would give you such… Such… And well, you are and were treated badly because- I mean," his elder sister began to stutter, frightened and scared.

"What is it? Care to tell the truth finally?"

"No well- I've been telling the truth all along! It's just that… I mean… Forget about it! Just forget about it!" pleaded his sister.

"You like hiding things from me don't you? But now you can't anymore…You won't be able to pick on like you used to, eh? I'm not that weak little runt anymore…" Koja held up a paw and gathered a small sphere of dark energy in it, the powers swirling around for a moment or two before disappearing, "I could kill you within five seconds."

His sister's fur bristled but she went on quietly, "I know you're different Koja. We're different too… Father's going to special trouble to get you out of your rank! And-"

"It was the Great Articuno's decision to relieve me of that rank."

"You know that you need that ceremony to be official. The Great Articuno did not specify that there was to be a ceremony… The Council don't want you getting out of your current rank. Father's sacrificing a lot of things for you. We all are!"

"What Father?" scoffed Koja, "He might as well be trying to kill me from what he's done. He is going to die one day. And I will tell you that I will be celebrating on that day."

"It's not Father's fault that you get kicked out you know…"

"Then who was responsible? Mr. Twinkly-Toes?" the words were laced with hatred and sarcasm.

"The Council."

Koja's eyes narrowed, trying to decide if this was another lie or a term he had not come across with yet, "Explain."

"Well, only a few people knew about them…" His sister hurried to talk, knowing that this just might win her brother back,

"Only a few people know about the Council. They're the real pack leaders of our pack. Father's just a figurehead, a puppet for them to use. You hardly hear from them, you hardly see them; they fade into the background as if they're not there… But they are the core to this pack… They are the reason why you are an outcast."

"You lie again. Covering up for Father aren't you? Pathetic." But his voice had lost its sureness.

"You saw them! I know you did! I saw you look at them! Remember? That group in the shadows? They are The Council."

"Well even if they-This Council- are the reason or not the reason for all these bad things… It does not give you or the rest of your family to go and put me through hell!"

There was silence for a short while before his sister continued on…

"But, but, can't you see! I've begged a thousand pardons from you! We're trying to do everything we can to make up from what we've done. We're not who we were! Can't you forgive us? Can't you forget at least?"

"No." The word was final, harsh, and definitely unforgiving.

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"Koja…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Can we please be sensible?"

"I am being sensible! You just don't understand."

"Understand? No. I don't understand. There was a time, Koja, not long off, when I actually really admired you! From that time- it's went downhill. Admitedly, some of that wasn't your fault but… Everything else… "Shadow shook her head as she leaned against the cave wall, "Has been a total mess. And now this! I really don't understand."

The Umbreon's blue eyes flashed dangerously at him, but for once, Koja wasn't paralyzed- he was angry. Shadow continued, her tone of voice slowly rising,

"You told me once that you wanted a family- a real family. One that loved you. When one does pop up, guess what? You don't want them! Instead, you want to kill them all! How sensible is that? And then… you have the opportunity to free yourself of being an outcast! You basically turn it down. I have no idea who you are anymore… I don't even know who I am!"

Koja swallowed hardly, "Get a grip. You seem to think like you're like me, don't you? But you're not! I've seen you angst quietly here and there… You think you're wrong when you're not; you seem to make silent complications for yourself… Get over it! Besides that, my family is currently dead to me- just like I was to them. So you might as well shut up about what you just said."

The two stared at each other, a little shocked, a little hurt, but most of all, angry. Shadow turned to walk out of the cave, Koja staying behind to seethe in his emotions. The two didn't notice of even care that Sami and the rest were frightened out of their wits- they didn't notice anyone but themselves. It was like if a giant sword had sliced through that link that bound them together. It was if, everything was cascading into a huge big black oblivion for both. But little did both know, things were about to really get worse.

* * *


	17. Chapter 17: Worse and Worse

Hiya all! Here's the next chappie. Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed!

(EVERYONE meaning 'foxyjosh and STEELIXLOVER')

Sorry for the wee bit of lateness. Being busy and writer's block for my reasons. Also, I stayed up a little late to write this so don't take too much notice if it's a little bit rough around the edges or if I have a few grammar of spelling errors here and there- I'll correct it tommrow!

On another matter, I decided to go flick through my 'story stats' for this tale and I found out that this story is on a 'C2'? Funny how things happen…

**DISCLAIMER:** Anyone but insertnameofownerofPokemonhere DOES NOT own Pokemon- 'anyone' includes me!

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 17:

Worse and Worse

* * *

When you've done something wrong, very wrong, and you know that you've done something wrong, it is very easy to go into a state of extreme guilt and depression. However, strange as it may seem, Shadow did not feel any guilt of any sort- or even depression after her argument with Koja. If anything… she was a little upset and hurt at what had happened but somehow not guilty.

Shadow just simply knew that for the main part- she was right. Call it pride or something else but she simply wouldn't apologize to Koja. She couldn't. Maybe she would apologize over getting angry and upset… But that would be it. What she had said, she knew was the truth and was glad, not regretful at getting it out of her mind and at Koja.

The Umbreon sighed. There was an almost nagging pain at her heart, as if her conscience was telling her that she really should be feeling sorry and regretful. But those feelings just seemed so distant, far away… so unbelievable to be put into her box of feelings.

Shadow gazed up from where she was on the hills. The early morning sunrays just barely made it over the far mountains, leaving the area still quite dark. It was almost hard even now not to jump at every shadow now or even anything that moved. But then… maybe Koja was right… on some accounts…

Was she a little… Shadow glanced at a particularly ominous shadow near a boulder… Was she being too paranoid? Maybe… It was not something to do with that 'evil being' that she was apparently somehow connected with… Maybe it was just her out to cause trouble for herself… Moreover… Was she really that self-sympathetic sometimes?

Another sighed was released as the Umbreon reflected on the somewhat brief past she had known after evulotion… Scenes of being afraid and somehow alone flickered through her mind, some memories faint and faded, while others seemed to stand out boldly and vibrantly in her mind.

Things were so complicated… They'd always been complicated. She, Shadow, was complicated. Koja was complicated. Everyone was complicated. Everything was complicated. The whole world was complicated. Shadow half kicked herself mentally in the head, annoyed with herself… She was making her life more complicated and dark again wasn't she…?

At times like this… Shadow wished to go back to the world before evulotion. Where things were hurtful, upsetting but at least very simple. Now, she was being told she was the key essence of this prophecy type of thing and that there was something desperately strange and wrong with her? She did not in the least understand that.

She had overhead Sami once say something about her not really being an Umbreon… Or that she was abnormal and freakily strange… She had seen the flickers of fear once, half hidden behind Koja's fiery red eyes when her blue gaze had been too intense.

A barrage of questions that seemed quite like a swarm of Beedrills started to buzz and jab at her, asking things that made her more and more confused and lost… She knew she should be surer of herself now but… The Alakazam- Shadow shuddered. She was thought to be two years old? That was… Impossible…

More questions came, crushing Shadow's pondering on the latter thought and making her eyes screw up tight for a moment, as if to get it away from it all… But that didn't happen. They just came again…

Why couldn't the Gods, as powerful and busy as they were, why couldn't they spend a minute explaining to her what was exactly going on? Why couldn't they-

An intense change in temperature made the Umbreon drop her thoughts, as the grass around her seem to scorch and sizzle into ash. The Dark Pokemon's fur felt like it was about it explode from heat and it was then that Shadow noticed exactly who was standing next to her. Standing proud, wise, tall, and in all his glory was Moltres- Lord of Flames.

--------------------------------------------------

Koja wasn't exactly still seething and angry as he was last night… But anyone could tell that the Absol definitely wasn't in a mood to mess around in. Even Pep wisely left him alone, making sure to stay clear out of his way. He was forcing himself to do some detective work. He wanted to really know what was going on… Was his father still that cold, ruthless Absol… or a different creature all together? He had to know. He had to know who The Council was and whether Shadow and his sister was right.

Shadow. Koja's eyes narrowed. He had deep regret in their spat but there was no going back until he was sure he was wrong. Until then, he wasn't going to speak to her unless he needed to. It was clear they didn't have anything to say to each other anyway. Shadow didn't seem keen on an apology and neither was he… Even if he was deeply hurt inside.

Afterall… She had said that she didn't know who he was anymore… or that he was being so unsensible and-

No. Koja brushed the thoughts away with a shake of his head. He couldn't get distracted not now… He was blending in with the shadows near the sides of the valley, looking for the group called The Council… He knew they were somewhere here… After picking of snippets and tidbits of information by 'accidentally' overhearing conversations for other pack members Koja knew that this Council would be having a meeting somewhere in this area…. where was the only question now…

Jackpot. A bright color of red fur stood out against the green and grey surroundings. That red fur was the fur of a Flareon. His keen eyes zoned in on the Fire Eon and the Absol also saw quite a few other Pokemon- all matching the descriptions he had of 'The Council Members'. A Flareon was standing upright next to two Jolteons and A Vaporeon and Umbreon were sitting under the shade of a large tree. Completing the gathering was a Skarmory standing in the shadows as though he was meant to be there in secret.

Koja gave a start. He recognized that Skarmory… That large build of his body; that sleek shining plumage and that family scar down one wingspan… No doubt about it. That Skarmory was also known as Skye- the silent and unspeaking friend of Pep the Poochyeena. But what would he be doing there…? Even if Koja assumed the quite unlikely possibility of Skye being a member of the Council, Skye was unable to talk. He doubted the Council Members would want to play a game of charades to do any communication.

Koja bounded closer, careful to keep to the darkest parts of the shadows and to make sure his scent wouldn't be carried by the wind and into the noses of those Pokemon. Koja, his heart beating slighter faster then normal, swallowed when he found himself just meters away from the action. Relaxing and telling himself they wouldn't find him, Koja began to listen-

"Did you hear something?" The Vaporeon in the group spoke up, his dark eyes scanning the area for an intruder.

Koja froze and he willed them not to notice or find him, _"Don't notice me. I'm just part of the background… I'm nothing at all! Just go back to your meeting… don't notice me."_

"Never mind about that, we don't have a lot of time left." responded the Umbreon after a quick look around, "It's your mind playing tricks on you."

Koja breathed a sigh of relief. Saved.

"Continuing on, "The Flareon, the obvious leader of this 'Council' glanced at Skye, "We need you to tell to relay our message to the Great One."

Koja cocked his head… This 'Great One' probably wasn't a God like Raikou or Zapdos… Who would it be…? Koja shook his head, doubting he'd get the name from listening to the conversation. No normal Pokemon would address or call any God by his or her original name… It was almost like degrading the God so terms like 'Holy One' or 'Lord' was used instead.

"We are having problems with the Absol and his friends. We are also having problems with the matter that our power level has gone down- in a short while we will no longer be in control. That other Absol will. We will need to move on with the plan quicker then expected."

Skye nodded and looked towards the Vaporeon as the Water Type went on, "We are certain there will be no ceremony for the outcast Absol but the pack will rise against us soon. When we had the Absol kicked out, we fed the pack reliable lies by blackmailing the Absol's father. But now, those lies are fading away. The plan really must move ahead."

Koja's eyes widened immensely. It was shocking. Unbelievable. But this definitely was the truth. He just knew it was it. There was a sharp pain at his heart… Regret filled the Absol as he remembered what he had said to Shadow and his sister. He had to go back and find them now… He had to. He had to apologize.

Koja took one last glance at the gathering before his eyes before he started to turn around to leave. But before he did, he stopped as he heard the Flareon say,

"No Skarmory. Tell us any new messages from our Lord."

Koja's eyes widened once again. Skye was going to speak? He would stay behind- at least to watch how Skye would communicate with this 'Council'. The Council which was… Koja glanced at the group: One Flareon, one Vaporeon, one Skarmory, one Umbreon, and one Jolteon… Wait- there were two Jolteons weren't there…?

"What do we have here?"

Koja looked to his left and to his absolute horror…. Saw the face of the last member of the Council smiling cruelly down at him. He was caught.

--------------------------------------------------

"G-greetings, milord…" Shadow respectfully had her head bowed to the ground, "What brings you into my humble presence?"

Though there was still a great amount of reverence that Shadow had for Moltres, one of the Sacred Elementals… She wasn't awe struck by him anymore. After seeing the God too many times in such a short period of time… Well that awe just kind of vanished on its own… It was like… She was going to see him regularly, like on a daily basis instead of never. Which, by most Pokemon's standards… only happened in the days of old with the old Pokemon myths and heroes.

"Good day mortal, "The heat the came from Moltres had lessened somewhat though the air was still sweltering hot, "I must put this to you frankly, Child of the Night."

"Say what you need to." Shadow kept her voice cool and calm but on the inside she was bursting with all kinds of questions.

She wanted to know what exactly was going on… What she really was and so many other questions… But Shadow knew that bombarding a God with questions was rude, disrespectful… and just plain wrong. Shadow tilted her head up slightly, meeting the eyes of the Fire Bird, with a little bit of fear in her eyes. What was he going to say to her?

"I have specific instructions to give to you and these instructions are meant to be kept secret. They will not be uttered from your mouth."

Shadow nodded mutely, her heart starting to beat faster and faster. What were the instructions? She knew that this matter with this 'Dark Lord' was incredibly serious and that her orders definitely weren't going to be a walk in the park…. How hard they were and how life threatening and dangerous they were… would be another matter entirely.

"Please continue, Holy One. I will definitely carry out your orders, no matter the cost."

Shadow bit her lip, desperately hoping that her orders… were manageable. But the Umbreon's fears seemed to greaten when she saw the grim smile of her God when he heard her last few words. Did that mean… something tragic?

"Good. Then let us get on quickly for we have a short time to talk and a very large quantity of information that must be shared. I will start off with something positive. You are going to be remembered for eternity."

Shadow jerked her head up, on the verge of being completely gob smacked. What kind of starting sentence was THAT?

Moltres allowed his words to sink in for a few moments before continuing on, "The next thing that will have to be said… This cannot be delayed any longer, young one. For the sake of the Immortals, the Gods, the Goddesses, for the good of the world…" the Lord of Flames swallowed heavily before he went on, "You must take up this burden and become…"

The Moltres closed his eyes, and even without seeing the God's fiery eyes, Shadow knew that he had a deep emotion of pain in his heart. Shadow's heart sank. This was becoming worse by the moment… What… was going to happen to her?

"You must take up this burden and become… a sacrifice and the final destroyer of the Great Evil which seeks to overturn our world."

A sentence which also meant… Her destiny was to not to live… but to die... very soon.

* * *

Whew… I dunno, but this story is about ¾ through. In fact, I half can't wait to get it done so I can continue writing another fiction that I'm planning… But anyhow, please, please review. I'm aiming for 100 reviews before I let this story end and I guess I'm nearly at the half way mark! I'm either probably ending at Chapter 25 or 30, or some other random number if I decide to do things differently!

Oh, and by the way, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions at all? I basically have the general story outline for the rest of the tale but I do have serious writer's block at every chapter. ANYTHING that you suggest would be greatly appreciated- or if I'm beginning to really confuse you… Thanks to all for reading!


	18. Chapter 18: Before The Fray of Battle

**(11/7/06-July 11 2006 UPDATE:** WAAH- This WAS soo scrappy... I can't believe I left some of my planning stages in AND I didn't update the story summary... 0.o FIXED AND EDITED!)

**DISCLAIMER:**Pokemon is owned by the owner Pokemon who isn't me.

Hello… I'm really sorry how late this is! Usual reasons plus a new one- Writer's block, being busy and the new reason? I'm depressed. I've been starved of my reviews- I have a feeling everyone's forgotten about this story. Either that or my writing is REALLY taking a turn for the worst…

Anyhow, I guess, that's an incentive to review… I dunno- every time I read a review I get some kind of mental therapy…0.o The more people who review, the quicker the next chapter gets done because I write faster/better if I KNOW that there is a reasonable number of people out there who actually care about this story!

Okies Dokes, that done with, THANKS to Foxyjosh, my very faithful reviewer, AND on with the Chapter…

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 18: 

Before The Fray of Battle

* * *

Even if the air was considered to be hot, Shadow felt a chill settle over her and her limbs seemed to be frozen on the spot. She felt like she couldn't move. She was going to die- DIE. Not by old age, not in a time far away, but in a time that would come soon- very soon. The shocking truth made thoughts whirl around her head and made everything seem so surreal… 

"Child. Do not worry. The Gods will be with you to the very end." Moltres' deep voice sought to be gentle and soothing, but it did nothing for Shadow at all.

Shadow didn't move even as she contemplated what had been said. What did it matter it the Gods were with her? She was going to die. Nothing, absolutely nothing was going to save her from her fate. Nothing, absolutely nothing was going to reassure that 'things were going to be all right'- no matter how hard she tried to be anti-angsty and positive even...

"Is-is… Is there no other… option?" After what seemed to be an eternity, Shadow slowly met the eyes of Moltres.

"We have searched… and searched. Forgive us, but there seems to be no other option, young one."

Shadow felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Her legs turned to jelly, but somehow, they just wouldn't wobble and topple over. Her body still ceased to function or move. Her eyes tore away from the awesome fiery sight of the God and stared at the ground.

"Are… Are there any further orders, Great One?"

"Only to fight with the Armies of Good in battle. You will receive further instructions when the time is of the essence."

Shadow swallowed and nodded ever so slightly.

"I-" Moltres paused, as if he was uncertain before going on, "I once believed that the whole idea… Of a Great Evil was preposterous. I argued and debated with my fellow Gods, asking them to stop this seemingly fruitless chase."

"Thankfully, my siblings kept on, as did the rest, paying little attention to me. They found evidence, they found…information." A tone in the God's voice warned the Umbreon not to ask anything, "Thus I finally believed in it… The Dark Lord is extremely intelligent and evil as you probably know. Those two put together were the ingredients for this whole…disaster."

The Moltres stopped talking. A wave of nausea overtook the Umbreon and she could see the ground spinning slowly all around her. No! She had to stay calm. She had to take breaths. Deep breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out. But even as she tried, the Umbreon felt her breathing becoming rapid, becoming frantic… She had to control herself, she had to-

A large fat teardrop suddenly rolled down her cheek. And before Shadow could do anything else, another big fat teardrop slid down the other side of her face. It took moments before the ground below her face was slightly damp and she could taste the saltiness of her tears. And, then… she started to cry- really cry. Not the loud crying that a child made over a broken toy or injury nor the tears of one who had disappointment or lost.

She cried because she knew she was going to die. She cried because she was scared. She cried because she knew that she would never meet her mother- or her father. The tears fell because she was frightened that she'd never be on amiable terms with Koja again. They fell because she never had a choice in all of this. She cried because of Akara and her pack and rank, she cried because of who she had turned out to be, she cried because she hadn't cried- in a very long time.

Somewhere along the line, she felt something warm wrap around her shaking body. Even though her vision was blurred by tears, the Umbreon saw Moltres out of the corner of her eye. But the thought that her troubles were so serious and so earth shattering that a God would come into contact with her… only made Shadow cry harder. The wings of the immortal were warm- not with the scorching heat one might expect and gave a small feeling of how it was to be a child in her father's loving arms.

Shadow had no idea how long they both stood there… She only knew that is was quite a long time. By then the ground had developed a fairly small puddle of tears that she stood upon. There was silence for awhile as the Umbreon's tears finally stopped, giving the atmosphere a somewhat peaceful feel- as if were oblivious to the dark looming future ahead.

Moltres finally spoke, his eyes soft, his tone gentle, "In these times of… trouble, it is easy to sink into sorrow."

With one paw, Shadow wiped away the wetness form her eyes and looked up at the Divine Being, waiting for a continuation of what had been spoken. It of course continued.

"But we must- we must go on. For there is an immortal fire that blazes brightly in all of us, a fire that can never be removed. That fire is the soul of all Pokemon- it is our fire to fight till we have nothing left to give and beyond, to fight for what we believe we must fight for. This is what we are to put into action, Young One. For if we let our fires blaze their brightest- our ancient race shall always... prevail."

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Koja tried to remain proud, defiant, and unaffected, trying to give the deception that he was worried that 'they' had found him. The Council- words sounded so much less ominous that the actual thing… The Absol glared at the Jolteon.

"What?" he snarled.

Inside he was feeling scared and frightened- but he knew that it wouldn't do him any good. He had to keep up the bluff.

"I'm just wondering, what someone like you… would be doing here." Replied the Jolteon smoothly.

It didn't take long for the rest of The Council to arrive, Skye trudging after them, unable to meet the Absol's eyes.

"That's none of your business."

"It is. The pack leader gave us permission that we may use this particular area of land for our purposely solely. Thus meaning we have the right to make you leave and inquire exactly what you are doing, intruding on this land."

"Pokemon aren't greedy owners, paranoid over their boundaries and lands- just like the humans are. Unless," Koja paused briefly, "you are implying that you are trying to be like a human."

The deep insult caused dark emotions to flicker across the Jolteon's face, also sending a chill down Koja's spine. He knew power when he saw it.

"We are neither what you call us nor human wannabes, as you could put it." The words were strained, the smooth tone nearly turning into anger, "This is an area of privacy."

The Flareon in the group turned to Skye, "We have no more need of you."

Koja badly wanted to call out to Skye, yell at him, question him… What was going on? But Koja, due to many experiences knew that this would probably just worsen the situation. The Skarmory nodded and flew away- disappearing in an instant due to his high flight speed.

"You don't seem to have any questions at the moment. I will be leaving then."

As expected, his path was blocked by an Umbreon and Vaporeon.

"You haven't answered my colleague's question," The Flareon stated bluntly.

"I seem to have forgotten it- or I do not remember such a question. Please restate it."

Koja's voice changed from rude and uncaring, to a high level of politeness. He had a feeling that good manners just might make these people a little less dangerous. But then not tiny little thing like that would affect anything dramatically anyway…

"What exactly were you doing just now and what were your intentions?" the smooth voice of the Jolteon had changed to cold and business-like.

"I-" began Koja, but what that Absol was going to say, we shall never now.

For just as he began to open his mouth came an intensely cold wind that dropped the temperature to freezing or at least exceptionally cold. Koja recognized the signs of who he was in the presence of immediately and at once felt relief coursed through his body. One of the Elementals, Goddess of Cold and Frost- Articuno had come.

The same recognition spawned on the faces of the others, as they too, like him, immediately bent their heads towards the ground. One Umbreon coughed because of the cold and Koja allowed himself an unseen dark smile- the cold was affecting him, was it? Good- after all, they needed some form of punishment for the whatever evil they did in their lives, even if it was in the form of a minor illness.

"Salutations... There seems to be conflict here."

"The conflict has already been resolved, Great One. We thank you greatly for your concern." The Espeon spoke, quickly masking her emotions under complete placidness.

The Goddess had traces of disbelief on her face, "I think not. I can both feel and sense your emotions at the moment. Some of them are anger and annoyance."

"Oh wise one, I hate to contradict you and apologize for doing so, but we have solved this conflict, even if our minds are still dealing with conflict of our emotions." Interrupted the Flareon, smoothly.

Articuno gave a tiny, nearly unhearable sound of annoyance before going on, "I see. You all should be at the valley by now. We have only a few moments to spare. I trust that you who had lived here all your lives will know where the valley is? It is the largest one."

"We shall go there as soon a possible. Would you like us to take the Young One too?" this time is was the Vaporeon who spoke, her soft voice half echoing in the winds.

Koja gave a start- a tiny start. The voice of the older Pokemon seemed to show genuine concern. Older she may have been, but not that much older as one would have expected. After all this was The Council- a group of wise, dangerous, highly intelligent Pokemon. It seemed unnatural that such a young Pokemon, just barely an adult, should join. The Absol then shook his head slightly- after all, she could be putting on a mask over her true feelings. She only SEEMED concerened anyway.

"No, you need not trouble yourself." The Articuno flashed a brief smile, "I shall take him there myself. Go now, so that you will not be late."

"May I ask… why exactly we must go to this valley?" one the Jolteons asked.

"It seems this large evil is ready to wage war against us. Our forces have gathered and we need all to be there- of course including you. The valley is not a very short distance away- to be on time we must leave now. I bid you to go."

When issued an order from a Supreme Goddess, one of course follows the order immediately. Unless one has a particularly good reason or is reasonably powerful enough to take that Supreme Goddess on. Of course no one in the vicinity had THAT much power, so Articuno's were heeded and followed- instantaneously.

The Council soon became blurs on the horizon and Koja turned to the deity.

"My concern is that those Pokemon have not a…" Koja searched for a word to use, "Those Pokemon seem not to be of a good alignment."

"There is no point wasting thoughts on that. I know what you know and many things you do not know, Absol. This is not the time for that, the time is to now leap upon my back. The time is to go."

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The sight was amazing. Pokemon of every color, every species and every size were there… Packs and herds congregated in their respective groups, while small families huddle together, also amazed at the huge numbers. It had probably been a very long time since Pokemon had gathered together like this. A chill settled over the Umbreon as she once again realized the huge enormity of it all- and her devastating task.

Moltres has already flown to the summit of the mountain, a position seen clearly by everyone in the valley. A large wind blew past Shadow and she watched, awed, as a huge flock of Pidgeys, Pidgeottos, and Pidgeots, raced past her, gliding speedily through the air. Her attention was then taken away from the as she saw exactly WHO was on that mount with Moltres. Shadow had a sharp intake of breath.

There stood Celebi with his almost childlike appearance, Entei with his impressive fur and stance. Latios and Latias hovered in the sky while Kyogre was keeping himself saturated in a small lake of self-provided water. The Elementals, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were there of course along with Raikou and Suicune.

Three great figures caught her eye and Shadow gasped again as she realized who they were- Regirock, Regice, and Registeel- Three beings that almost no one, Pokemon, Human, or even God, had seen until now. They kept themselves away from all, hidden in the various spaces of the world.

Ho Oh almost blinded her with his spectacular plumage, the air reflecting on his multicolored feathers to create a rainbow of sorts. Next to him, stood Lugia, his stoic stance indicating probable wisdom and great knowledge. Jirachi was sitting on a particularly large rock, smiling gently at all. Shadow calmed herself once again after starting to hyperventilate.

These were the Gods- and Goddesses: Immortal beings who strived to keep the world in order, immortal beings which she had never ever seen… until now. She could practically feel their power radiating off them and the clash of forces as their energies crackled and spat with the opposing ones around them.

It was like a dream almost- surreal and hazy. Shadow shook her head slowly, unbelieving. If all of them combined together… was worried and even believed that they couldn't defeat this Dark Lord… Shadow swallowed and fear ran through her veins. The Dark Lord had to be extremely powerful- And if, she, a mere young Umbreon, apparently able to defeat this Great Evil- Shadow froze. There had to be something very powerful, very wrong with her. Shadow shuddered deeply.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, the Umbreon's eyes widened as she saw who also who there. The White Paw Pack- she couldn't address it as her pack anymore. But then, of course they'd be there. Each and every Pokemon had been called upon to take up the burdern to fight for good- not every Pokemon came of course, a large number slinking away to join the opposing army.

The pack was advancing towards here, evidently heading for a large space further down in the valley reserved for them. She caught sight of old Winterchill, the Vaporeon still the pack leader from since she was given her outcast rank.

The Umbreon decided hastily to get away from them as quickly as possible. Even if the rules of an outcast stated that one must not come into the pack's terrortory and didn't say anything about just coming near the pack… Shadow highly doubted that the pack would remember that the rule didn't apply in the present… So, time to run-

"It's her!" a shrill high squeaky voice sounded from a young Evee atop of his mother's head, "it's her! It's her! It's herrrrrrrrr!"

A paw was pointed along with the baby's ongoing screech and the pack turned to look at who 'her' was. Shadow swallowed, turned around, and stood her ground, forcing herself not to tremble. It was before the fray of battle, it was right before the time when she would be sacrificed, and she already had enough to worry about- now, into the already catastrophic mix, came back her pack from the depths of seemingly nowhere- and she had to confront that problem now.

* * *

Whew... my word processor program was having some MAJOR problems... It was like a horror typing this up! --

Anyway, I'm sorry if this is pretty scrappy- I'm going to be away from my beloved computer sniffle for a few days or so and thus won't be able to go clean this up for ya! Hopefully, that doesn't detract the number of reviews!

-StarDragon X


	19. Chapter 19: Final Orders

I'm again SO SO SO SO sorry for the lateness of this chapter! This will definitely NOT happen again! I definitely mean it!

THANK YOU both of youz who reviewed. I don't have the time to look you guys up (getting this chapter up as soon as possible) but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Review's are probably the greatest things since… um… sliced bread!

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 20:

Final Orders

* * *

"Hey Koja! There you are!"

Koja turned immediately and was greeted with the faces of Inferno, Zan, Ditto, and Pep. A tiny smile graced his features and he nodded in return.

"Where's Sami?"

Inferno sighed, "She thought it'd be best for her to lie low for the moment. After all, there's quite a lot of Pokemon who don't think its right that a human should see our Gods, let alone attend any of our meetings…"

"I suppose… Where is she? The place is absolutely teeming with Pokemon…."

"She's in the cave of that old Slowking," piped up Pep, "All the other Pokemon are scaredy-Meowths, and they won't go near that place!"

"Hey… Where's Shadow?" Ditto was in the form of a Fearrow, his temporary keen eyes scanning the valley in vain.

"Yes- she's normally with you…" Zan spoke up as he casually twirled his bone sword on his fingers.

Koja paused in thought. Yes… where was she? He'd assumed that she'd be with Pep and the rest but now… Oh wait. He needed some explaining to do, didn't he? He really needed to explain- to his family and to Shadow.

"Hey, have you seen any of my sisters- or parents?"

Zan seemed give a tiny start at this, the Cubone seemingly surprised at Koja's level tone of voice compared to the mocking and sarcastic one he normally used when talking of those particular Pokemon. Koja shrugged and waited for an answer.

"Ahh…. Well…" Pep started, looking as if she was concentrating hard- very hard, "Hmm…"

"Well?"

"Hey Koja! Have you noticed that you're really really different from your family?"

"That's very nice- WHAT?" Koja's eyes widened in surprise.

"She's kind of right," agreed Ditto excitedly, landing on a nearby rock, "You've got red eyes and your parents and siblings all have like… browny blacky ones. Am I right or am I wrong?"

"Right! Right! Right!" chanted Pep gleefully.

Koja glanced over at Inferno, looking for a sane comment. The Houndoom nodded his head reluctantly.

"Yeah… They're right."

"Right! Right! Right-" Pep's voice was cut off by a nearby Feraligator,

"Aren't you aware of the Gods here? Be quiet, will you!"

Zan was a little apart from them, muttering softly after the Cubone noticed the stares and scowls directed at them. Koja glanced at the gleaming celestial beings at the main plateau and murmured a small apology, Zan and the rest doing the same, Pep amazingly look somewhat solemn as she copied the movements of Inferno and Ditto.

He really didn't mean any… disrespect. Koja looked again at the council of Gods and Goddesses- they were all there, only missing Mew. But, after seeing most of them in the past few days… he wasn't awestruck like most of the other Pokemon. In fact, most of the Pokemon gathered in the valley were content to sit and look at their Gods, murmuring in hushed voices only when needed.

"Anyway," Ditto went on, this time his voice in a mere whisper, "It's not just your eyes that are different…"

"Yeah!" agreed Pep, "Your face is like this…"

Pep made a crude oval shape with her forepaws before continuing,

"But your father's and mother's face are like…this."

Pep turned the oval into a demented circle.

"Great." Replied Koja sarcastically, "So you don't actually know where they are?"

"Not really… But Zan and I have been talking to that Slowking while you were off to who knows where and we have quite a bit of information…" said Inferno, swishing his tail about.

"And why would that interest me?" Koja kept his eyes off the Houndoom in effort to not reveal his interest.

"Because, what we found out has something deal with you specifically."

"Inferno! I don't think that this is a good idea…" Zan's voice trailed off.

"No. He needs to know." Inferno glanced at Ditto, "Could you show Pep to the others…? Take a walk?"

Ditto nodded and immediately pushed Pep off in the opposite direction, him following her.

"So…?"

"There is a prophecy."

"There are a whole lot of prophecies- that never come true!" Koja snapped, his patience beginning to run thin.

He desperately wanted to find his family and Shadow. He was beginning to understand everything.

"This one was the one the Gods thought, centered on Shadow."

Koja froze, "What do you mean?

Zan walked closer to the pair, "The Slowking was the prophet, and he told us every word. Only some things don't fit for her- and some things fit for you."

"For example, you are of the Ice Snow Pack. In this prophecy, it says that 'the shadow', the main thing in it, is an adopted member of the ice Snow Pack."

"I'm not adopted." Muttered Koja.

"You have a high chance to be adopted currently. Remember what Pep and Ditto were saying before?" Inferno shook his head, "Your face, fur, and eyes are different."

Before Koja could make a remark, Zan continued, "Your exact name is mentioned in this poem Koja. And your description fits."

"Liar…" growled Koja, "I do NOT want to get mixed up in this nonsense, you hear me?"

"No." responded Inferno, "I don't hear you. And whether you like it or not you probably are mixed up in all of this."

"Give me some leeway, guys. I'm up to my eyes in unsettling things that I'm mixed up with!" snapped Koja and he turned away, "I'm going to find Shadow and that's final!"

"Really? You know… You could just take Shadow's place in all this. Including the apparent great evil that resides in Shadow… or even you."

Koja turned.

--------------------------------------------------

"She's there! There! Theeeeere! That one! That one!" the Evee's voice by now was in a hysterical rant.

The White Paw Pack advanced on Shadow, beginning to surround the shell-shocked Umbreon. Other Pokemon not of the pack began to move away and started to throw frightened glances in her direction. Shadow swallowed. Of course her pack would be there. Every pack and every family in the world was probably there… How could she have been so stupid?

She really should've have been a lot more careful! Mentally, the Umbreon knocked herself continuously on the head and refrained from muttering otherwise censored expletives. She forced herself to keep her head up high and her stature straight. She had to calm herself down and keep telling herself that well… it wasn't her time to die- yet. So at least they couldn't murder her presently… Not that it actually really made her any calmer, though.

"What do you want…?" she managed politely.

Winterchill swallowed and looked away, before saying quietly, "It is best… if you keep as quiet as possible- it is for your own good."

Shadow swallowed back a retort- she knew that Winterchill would've have never exiled her. The pack did- and the pack leader had to listen to his pack. One of the Vaporeons who had evolved that 'day' so many months ago walked up. His fur was sleek, shiny-something hers would never be. Shadow tore her eyes away. Huh. The Vaporeon seemed to have evolved into a position of admiration and respect, even with his young age. A gnawing pain clawed at Shadow's heart.

"We know as does Winterchill that you have death if you enter our territory or our lands. That is our ancient law and we must abide by it." The Vaporeon paused.

Shadow sighed in relief mentally, though a nagging feeling get her fully alert. That had to an extra sentence, a punch line somewhere along the line- a trap, if one may call it so.

"But do not think you can escape us." Shadow nodded, recognizing the prelude to the Vaporeon's so called trump card, "After all, you will also have death, according to the ancient law, if you come in contact with any of us."

Shadow bit her tongue, keeping inside an answer- was it her fault that they all had to be in the same area? Silence sounded through the air and even the young Evee child who had been screeching before was now as quiet as the rest of the pack.

"Tyr- I'm afraid the exiled one has not come into physical contact with any of us yet. " Winterchill, moved to the side of the ring created by the crowd of Pokemon in the White Paw Pack.

Shadow glanced at him, knowing this was a signal that as soon as he pushed enough Pokemon out of the way for an exit, she would have to run for her life. She took one stick backwards and towards him. But before, anything else happened, Tyr blocked her path.

Winterchill looked at them, fear in his eyes, "Tyr! Did you not listen to me? She has not come into contact, physical contact with any of us. We can let her go."

Tyr directed a cold smile at his pack leader. In one swift movement, he extended the claws on his right paw and slashed Shadow across the face.

"Oh dear." He said sarcastically, "I believe she has just come in to contact with me."

With such a quick action, not much damage was done, and Shadow had closed her eyes in reflex- but the pain still brought the Umbreon to her knees, and she started to paw in vain at her face, trying to release herself of the agonizing pain.

It was being touched by fire- it burned, it absolutely burned. Shadow tried her best to stop a scream from coming up. But, remembering, it would be more to her advantage to stay quiet, Shadow instead gave Tyr the most petrifying glare that she had ever given in her entire life.

It summed up her pain, her anger that was growing, her confusion, her loneliness- nearly everything. But the Vaporeon looked away to face the crowd, avoiding it carefully.

"This Pokemon is not a part of us because of a murder- a murder which took the life of a much loved mother to one such as I. But because of certain naive Pokemon," a glance was directed at Winterchill, before he turned to face her, "You were given a chance. You were exiled… instead of being sent to hell- rightfully."

Shadow's eyes widened, suddenly remembering that yes, Akara had been Tyr's mother. The last few words of his were said with full loathing and hating. It seemed that tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. He was still very much grieving over his dead mother. She almost pitied him, but what he had already said and done tore that feeling away.

Tyr continued, his voice harsh, "You have broken one of an exile's sole chance to life. Only death awaits you."

Shadow couldn't help it and even if it probably made things worse and didn't even make herself feel any better but worse, she said, "I apologize for coming into contact which this… foreign pack. I will not do it again. I also… apologize again. However disrespectful it may sound, it has been chosen by the Gods that only one thing will send me to death. That creature is neither you nor any other creature that is of the White Paw Pack. Until them, I may not die."

Winterchill stared at her, his soft eyes piercing into her, trying to discern if what she had said was a complete lie…or not. Shadow swallowed grimly again knowing that if they tried to kill her, the Gods would definitely come. But, in the case that they may be too late to save her… Shadow cuffed a paw behind one of her legs and started to gather dark energy into it. Tyr glanced at her suspiciously. Shadow looked right back into his eyes. He broke his gaze to look at Winterchill uncomfortably.

"Pack Leader. What is your decision? Whatever this thing says, it is a lie, to rid her of her punishment. No one trusts the word of an exiled. You know that. You know what the pack wants. What is your decision?"

The Young Vaporeon gestured with one paw to where the whole pack, almost in unison, nodded silently, their gazes averted from Shadow. The Umbreon had never really felt so exposed or aware of the two x shaped scars of her forelegs. Even her harsh blue eyes which over the past few months had been nearly been forgotten were now like bright lights in a pitch black cave.

Winterchill closed his eye s briefly before speaking, "We cannot kill the one here before me. Even if it is an outright sin for one like her to come into contact with us, it is an even greater sin for a creature like her to die by our paws in the presence of an Immortal- we cannot kill her."

--------------------------------------------------

Koja shook and took a deep breath. He was not the one. He was not the one foretold by this pathetic prophecy. It was Shadow and only Shadow.

"Koja- If you don't accept it until the very last minute… Well…Well…It's not a good idea. The Gods have to know." Warned Zan, cautiously.

"Then tell them yourself." Growled Koja.

"You have to tell when you want to." Replied Inferno before glancing around, "Shadow was it, you wanted…? Since you're so disbelieving I guess we'll have to wait for time to change you."

"Stop speaking like some old mad hermit- both of you! It's ludicrous!" snapped Koja, "Where's Shadow- now! I've nearly lost my patience!"

Indeed the Absol was right. Her fur was raised and his eyes had evolved from their usual red to a blazing inferno that seemed to swirl and dance in his eyes dangerously. Even the Absol's raised horn looked a lot more dangerous then it did a few minutes ago.

Fortunately both Zan and Inferno knew… when enough enough was. Inferno called Ditto and Pep back.

"Hey you guys!" Inferno waved his paw at two small shapes not too far off.

Pep and Ditto came bounding back, Ditto know in the form of a roly-poly Marril, his round blue shape bouncing besides Pep's one.

"Do you guys know where Shadow is?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I mean…" Pep quietened her voice upon looking around, "She's at the other side of the valley!"

Koja frowned, his orbs of fire slowly, slowly fading back to their normal red, "Are you guys sure?"

"Of course we are! Of course we are!" Pep still managed to pump energy into her whispered voice, "We saw her with a ring of other Pokemon and we came running back."

"She may be in some trouble." Added Ditto, transforming back into his normal state- his Marril ears tuning into a purple substance.

"Exactly where?" demanded Koja.

And whether it was the tone in his voice or the look in the eyes that made Pep squeak, "Over there by the rocks!" and point with one paw- one may never know. But what one would know was that Koja took off straight away like a bullet, his black form racing past families of Pokemon.

Koja himself wasn't quite sure why he was in such a hurry to get wherever he was going. Shadow had overall proven she could take care of herself- but then, he wanted…to… apologize… didn't he? Either that or he had grown accustomed to looking after her- after all, she was young and naïve… right? Well, even if she was two years old and the same age as him- apparently. The Absol cursed as he saw the crowd around her. What was going on?

A suddenly bright shine of metal caught his eye and Koja turned around, suspicious of whom that could be. Yes. He was right. It was Skye- the traitor… Bounding towards the large Skarmory, and forgetting Shadow altogether, Koja started to have a swirl of doubts in his mind. He didn't have to be THAT rash- after all, if could… have been another Skarmory with a similar scar, right? No. Koja started to call out to Skye-

Skye seemingly was oblivious to the Absol, and his back still turned to Koja, took off from his perch on a rock to another point in the valley. Koja swore softly. Avoiding him- eh? Picking up speed, the Absol raced pace a flock of Murkrow causing the Bird Pokemon to caw angrily at him from afar after he had nearly stepped on one of their children.

Koja only murmured a quick apology and again picked up the pace. He was getting away! That was not going to happen this time-

A flash of blinding light obscured the Absol's vision in white, lasting for a few seconds. When at last the light had cleared, Koja shook his head dizzily to clear the dancing spots that he kept seeing. What had happened…? Oh.

A sharp intake of breath was taken as the Absol saw exactly who had arrived. Floating high above the group of Gods and Goddesses, basking in the sunlight with a serene expression of on his facial features… was Mew: the childlike Mew, the powerful Mew, the Mew that had been there in the very beginning and the Mew who would be there until the very end- the one and only Mew. Though great reverence had already been placed for the other Immortals, the valley was hushed into absolute silence and every knee was bent and every head was bowed.

The Council of Gods were finally assembled… and their last full meeting before chaos and catastrophe could… start.

--------------------------------------------------

The immediate few seconds after Shadow fully realized Mew was in the valley, the Umbreon relinquished the dark energy she had stored in her left paw and let it go. She then charged through suddenly at the crowd of Pokemon around her, her sudden movement giving her enough power to break through.

Once out of the ring, she slipped in the crowd of the other Pokemon and vanished from sight- well, at least to the eyes of the White Paw Pack. The pack already knew it was disrespectful to run around chasing after another Pokemon when in the sight of an Immortal, so they thus stood still, Tyr seething so hotly that some of his skin turned into steam.

A few bounds more and Shadow was satisfied that she was safe for the moment. There was no time to find Koja, Pep or the others so she immediately bowed her head like every other Pokemon she saw. It would start soon.

Indeed the meeting did start. Mew landed at the front of the main plateau. Out of the corner of her eyes, Shadow saw the others, each with some sort of brilliant aura radiating off them. The Elementals stood rigidly behind Mew, the air around them crackling with fire, lightning and ice. Latias and Latios danced with each other in the sky, once in a glancing down gently at everyone. Suicine, Enter and Raikou stood at various points of rocks of the plateau, their fine coats almost dazzling Shadow.

Then, there was Raquaza- Lord of the Sky, his great green body curling around the rock plateau. Lugia and Ho-oh stood far off from each other, each standing proudly and dignified in his and her own way. Celebi, like Mew smiled with a child-like fragrance, the grass in the valley already green by his mere presence. Kyogre was dwelling in a self-made lake while Gordon stood far away, in the sunniest spot of the plateau. Regirock, Regice, and Registeel completed the group, their strange bodies seemingly devoid of any life- although every Pokemon there knew better.

"Greetings, to you all, and please, life up your heads. My great thanks for taking the trouble to travel to this place." Mew's voice traveled all across the valley, leaving an echo, "I trust that you all have found shelter for the nights ahead. You may be now wondering what is going on. This I will leave to the Elementals."

Articuno stepped forward, "We have revealed, due to a prophecy and certain other events that there is a Dark Lord who seeks to destroy life and light as we know it. This lord has not revealed himself fully- we do not know his form or shape. We know only that he is of pure evil. Many Pokemon will have joined his army, the reason why not all Pokemon are here today."

Shadow glanced in recognition at a large lake where many many water Pokemon were currently swimming in- a large river flowed into it from a gap in the valley. Frightened murmurs began, children scared of the future, mothers and fathers unsure.

"But there is no need to be afraid." Continued Moltres, "Even if this Dark Lord is strong. Stronger then the many Gods and Goddesses combined- there is one hope. And that is the prophesized one. She will destroy this Lord- even if it is at a… great cost to herself and to ourselves. We will introduce her to you and she will thus come up to this plateau."

Shadow's eyes widened. She would have to go up now? This was not good. Fortunately, a Pidgeot appeared beside her in an instant and beckoned silently for her to get on. Trembling, the Umbreon stepped on to his back and clung on with her paws.

The large bird himself flew slowly, and near to the ground so that each Pokemon would see her. Shadow knew with fear that every eye was on her- The White Paw Pack's eyes, Koja's eyes, Inferno's eyes- everyone's eyes.

IT wasn't long though, before they were at the top, at the sight of being so close to that many number of Immortals make the Umbreon feel like a lump of goo, unable to move. The Pidgeot must have felt the same way for he flew up, his flight a little dizzy. Shadow trembled again and immediately brought her forehead to the ground.

"Turn to the crowd Young One." Said Mew softly.

Shadow did as she was told; scanning for a familiar face that she might regain her confidence in. An Absol who stood there, staring at her. Shadow looked away, surprised. He should've of known of this right? Well, at least he didn't know her… her… It was best not to think of it.

"Her name is Shadow," Proclaimed Zapdos, "and for your sake, my sake- our sake, she is going to sacrifice her life so that we may all live. Because of this, she is to be treated with the highest of care and respect- the Dark Lord will try his or her best to destroy our only hope."

"We also know her current status," added Articuno, "Do you not ever treat her as an exiled one- never even think of it!"

Shadow looked up at the Ice Goddess, and knowing it would was disrespectful if she spoke, could only use one shared look to muster up some of her thanks. Fortunately Articuno dipped her delicate head slightly and smiled. Shadow smiled back before she turned to the crowd yet again.

Suddenly, a tiny shape came speeding over the valley's far side, the creature's wings flapping so hard it was only seen as a blur. Shadow squinted against the afternoon sun. What was it? A-a… a pidgey. Yes, it was definitely a pidgey. What on earth?

The tiny bird Pokemon crash landed on the ground before Mew, the Pidgey obviously exhausted. His wings looked singed- he had obviously just escaped some sort of battle. What happened to the poor thing…?

The pidge started to babble, to speak, but before he could, Mew silenced him with a smile. Floating downwards, the Great One used his tail to… Shadow craned her neck around Zapdos. Her eyes widened. Mew had actually touch the Pidgey. And-and, even more amazingly, before her eyes, the singed feathers began heal rapidly, the bruises disappeared, the cuts fading- he was being healed in a matter of seconds! Amazing- absolutely amazing.

"Tha-thank you! Thank you very much, it's an honour. A great honour!" babbled the Pidgey in awe, "Well- anyway…"

The pidgey trailed off in thought before he continued.

"Well… I'm afraid to interrupt but… there is no more time to talk! The Dark Lord is coming! He's coming! He's coming now!"

"He is right." Said Celebi, who had entered the conversation, "Already I can feel him."

The God of the Forest glanced at the others who started to nod.

"They all know enough anyway. We must split up into armies- water with water, fire with fire." Pointed Entei, "Let us take action now!"

Shadow hunched down, feeling somewhat out of place in the conversation between Immortals. IT was extremely unnerving.

"Good. Thank you. You may return to your family, brave warrior." Said Mew to the Pidgey.

The Bird flew, his flighty seemingly erratic and full of pride. Shadow smiled at his antics in the air.

"We have no more time for talking- the itme is for action. The Dark Lord is nearing even as I speak." Called out Mew, serenely.

Shadow nearly shook her head in disbelief. She had expected him to looked troubled or afraid, at least somewhat shocked that the Dark Lord was getting closer and closer… But… he wasn't. A hubabub of talking rose up, distracting the Umbreon from her thoughts.

"Right!" Mew's voice suddenly became louder as it seemingly obunced through the air, "We are assembling you into groups! Children here! Latios, Latias! Take order over there!"

"Children of Fire! Assemble here!" Entei's deep voice rumbled as the God stood beside Moltres at one edge of the valley.

Shadow blinked. How did they both get over there so quickly? Strange.

"Those of Thunder and Lightning come to me!" shouted Zapdos, his wings crackling with power.

He and Raikou had both settled down on the opposite side of the valley to Entei and Moltres. They too, had seemingly teleported there. But before another God of another Element could make his or her move a deep rumbling resounded and before long, every face was upturned towards the sky. The dragons had arrived. Their leader, obviously a Salamence, landed directly on the plateau, showing respect when he bowed.

"I deeply apologize for my race's lateness. We had trouble avoiding the enemy, who are in fact, only a few minutes away." At this point of time a look of pure horror came across his face before he shook it away, "Where do you need us?"

Shadow shuddered. What kind of army was coming? Pokemon... and what else? In fact, the humans should've have come by now. They seeked to always somehow find and trap Pokemon, fro what she'd heard. Surely the disappearance of such a numerable amount of Pokemon... Surely the humans would've noticed.

"The humans notice only what they want to notice. They are also several Pokemon that we have met who have placed themselves across the lands... direct Children of the Day. The humans will all see hallucinations for a day or two. We cannot let them know, of course."

Shadow spun around, absolutely surprised to see Celebi behind her.

"I"m part Psychic," he said in explanation, "I can read emotions and basic thoughts."

"B-but..." Shadow quickly kept her head bowed to the ground, "I am of the Night."

"My powers can sometimes outdo the powers of the Night- due to my Immortal status. And... you facial features gave it away child. Now I must go. I have to assemble my own children."

With that Celebi sped across the valley, until he resided on a large slope and summoned those of the Forest, Jungle, and Grass to him. Shadow looked around, many Gods and Goddesses were slowly spreading out. She still felt extremely out of place here. She was like a large ugly thorn, among the roses- out of place. But at least there weren't many Immortals left to be like a rose to her.

The Children of the Rock followed Regirock. Those of the steel with Registeel, they who were conceived of Ice with Articuno and Regice. The list went on and on- The great dragons with Raquaza, Lord of the Sky, Children of the Sea and Ocean with Suicine, those bred of the sky with Jirachi... and on and on. Finally Shadow at last heard Latios's loud cry,

"Come to me! All you who follow and who are of the NIght!"

The winged God settled on an unccupied and waited. SHadow bounded down the plateau, fainting in and out, till she reached the mass of POkemon- just like her. Each on was silent, some frightened, some eerily calm- and each one acknowledged her with a a large dip of the head when she passed them. Scary. Glancing back at the children, she saw that Latias was herding them towards the cave of the Prophet- and it seemed that the task of keeping hold of the Children of the Day had been given to her and Jirachi.

MEw stood in the middle ofthose who had yet not been called- they were the ones who suddenly felt special- and even if they were the largest, or one of the largest groups, they were ecstatic. They followed Mew- he was their leader. The greatest one of all. But before Shadow had even tiem to rest properly and take in her new surroundings, Latios called out again,

"We must move now! I have no time to explain our tactics. Only to fight against them- you will always somehow know who is friend, and who is foe. Fight with your powers, astound them, confuse them, show them that we are definitely creatures who are of war and night. The second- protect the Umbreon. YOu all know which one. Protect her too, and if you die- may the Great God Mew have mercy on you. From here you will be split into groups by species, then groups again depends on certain reasons. We only have mere seconds to prepare this before we go. So do this now!"

Pushing andmoving was very much evident, as certain leaders of species called out, and Pokemon hurried and hurried. Shadow foudn the Umbreon's, found she was second in command and had no time to wait. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Koja- but she had no more itme to dwell on such things. They already were marching. A shiver of fear rain down her spine. This was it.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20: Betrayal

Firstly, and foremostly, to **foxyjosh** and **Stealthfire001**, thank you so much for bothering to read this! I'm on the verge of actually disbanding this story, but then I'm like THIS close to finishing it so yeah. THANK YOU.

I'm sick of disclaimers and writing them so this is the last disclaimer for the rest of the story. Lazy I am yes, but who cares?

**DISCLAIMER:** NEWSFLASH! I DO NOT OWN THE ANIME THAT THIS 'FIC IS CENTRED ON! HAPPY! PROBABLY NOT...

Forigve me but the ruler things aren't working so I have to use the '---'. Stupid errors.

**EDIT 9/10/0 September 10 2006- I fixed the ruler things! **

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 20:

Betrayal

* * *

Articuno gazed down with quietly at the Pokemon around her. Never did she think that she would see this day- ever. A soft pain scratched at her heart to think that most of the Pokemon that came into her vision would never live to see another day- or even another hour. It had been a long time since they had sent out the word for war- and that had been between them and the humans. But... this was an even bigger battle, an even bigger fight.

Moltres glanced at her, "This is… isn't it, Articuno?"

Articuno nodded slowly. She could feel the power of the other army- and even now as she looked out unto the plain, her eyes narrowed as she saw the first Pokemon of the enemy marching bravely out. The enemy's army was definitely much smaller- but that didn't say that the Pokemon themselves looked much more powerful then they'd normally should be.

To her left Zapdos stiffened, "There they go…"

Articuno followed her brother's gaze. He was right- A large platoon of Flygons was heading out, streaking through the sky. Behind them, on the ground itself, another platoon of Ponyta ran hard out, their pounding hooves echoing throughout the arena. Finally, almost hidden from view, Articuno saw the ripples through the ground- a platoon of Onix were digging their way through to meet the enemy.

This, all this to do the one thing Pokemon had done for eternity- to survive. Humans nearly tried to wipe them out once- but failed. In the ancient ages came the times, where Pokemon themselves gathered themselves up to fight against each other- a civil war that nearly caused their great race to be assimilated… by itself. Now here they were again, fighting- Pokemon against Pokemon, their enemy under a leader who had not yet shown him or herself.

Both of her cerulean eyes were transfixed on the scene below. She could hear clearly every single heart beat, ever single flap of the wing clearly- for as a Immortal who had lived from the dawn of time, she had embraced each and every Pokemon as her child, no matter how old or young.

They were now only a few footsteps away… Articuno briefly closed her eyes, not wanting to see the great clash between to great armies. But even if the Goddess of Ice did not see… she heard. She heard the painful cry of a young Ponyta who had been slashed. She heard the painful cry of a Dolphan who had been hit by a rock dropped by a Flygon. Even if they were on the other side- fighting against her, she could never wish them harm.

A gentle touch made her eyes open. It was Moltres and Zapdos.

"It is our turn now… We all have to lead our regiments…" murmured Moltres.

"It's for the best…" continued Zapdos, even if he sounded pained.

"Then let us go… and meet again my brothers…" Articuno smiled softly and tried to ignore the screams of battle.

After all… if she did not kill, if she did not fight… many more Pokemon would suffer- and that she did not want. Articuno stretched out her wings and glanced at her destination. A small army was waiting, hidden behind a hill for her, their eyes expectant for their leader to come, their bodies quivering with excitement.

As the great Goddess took off into the air, she briefly wondered how long it would take for that blood lust, that battle hunger to disappear into weariness and cries of unhappiness. No matter even if they were fighting for something good, something righteous no one could deny it- that war was a terrible thing.

And even if Articuno believed it wholeheartedly and had done as much as she could to walk away from this option- she knew, that this day would come. So she would at least charge with all of her might and give her children someone to look up to.

Articuno landed in front of her army. Each Pokemon looked up at her in admiration and awe, the younger Pokemon with innocence in their eyes, innocence that shield them from the terrors of war.

"Let us fight…" she said softly, but loudly enough to be heard, "Let us fight my children."

And with that, with no hesitations, the Goddess of Ice led her army towards the sounds of battle- she was going to lead them into death… and she was going to lead as many as she could out of death.

--------------------------------------------------

Screams and shrieks resounded through the plains. Shadow wanted to run away- run away to the farthest corner of the earth. But she couldn't. She had to fight. From above, beasts of the air clashed and underneath them, carrier birds from sides, dropped boulders and rocks on their enemies. A Linoone suddenly flew through the air at her, teeth bared and was soon scratching and clawing at her face. Shadow knocked it away and found she was surrounded by Pokemon.

She should have expected this- after all, she was the one who was meant to 'kill' their leader, everyone on the opposing team would be out to send her to hell. Shadow gathered energy into her mouth and let it explode- the energy passed over her, but dealt full damage to the Pokemon who had formed themselves into a ring around her. To say the least the enemy was blown right away. Shadow smiled grimly as she saw a large rock crashing down towards her. She jumped out of the way and collided into a punch by a Hitmonlee. Her right leg was held down by the same Linoone that she had knocked away earlier one and Shadow slashed madly at the raccoon like creature.

As she grimly kicked back at the Hitmonlee and slashed at his face, Shadow knew somehow… that she just wasn't going to die here. She was going to die when she killed the Dark Lord- until then, she almost believed it in as a truth that she would not die until then… encouraged by this, Shadow fought back with new fury, her attacks gaining more and more power.

Thrashing and forming a sphere of dark energy in her mouth, Shadow sent the ball spinning right into the chest of the Hitmonlee who was blown away, unconscious. Shadow looked at the flying shape grimly and turned to the Linoone who was still biting at her leg with all his might. He seemed to have evolved recently- he looked young.

Shadow forced the creature off her leg and dangled it in front of her with one paw, studying it carefully. He looked frightened, but he kept trying to bite her paw in vain.

"Why… why are you fighting your own race?" she asked quietly.

The Linoone in reply spat in her face. Shadow blinked, surprised at the brutal nature of the Pokemon. He had to be even younger then her…

"Why?" Shadow asked again.

"Because I believe that it's right!" he squeaked, "I was brought up with my beliefs by my mother- what mother says is right!"

"But… but… don't you think killing and letting your… so called master take over the world… don't you think that's wrong?"

"If mother says it's right, then it's right!" said the Linoone obstinately, "Our lord isn't going to take over the word- he's going to help the shunned and the oppressed…"

Shadow stared at him, surprised that he had such a… cruel view of the world. It was almost frightening but Shadow kept herself calm. He was at her mercy, after all. The Shadow glanced around, the other Pokemon, for now, hadn't taken much notice of her and this creature- she at least had time to try to… talk…

"Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!"

"What!" Shadow was gob smacked.

Most Pokemon at that age, were scared of death- and clung to life dearly.

"Mother says if something like this happens, I should be killed!" cried the Linoone, a somewhat crazy glint in his eye.

"But-But-" but Shadow didn't have time to say anything else for a sudden bolt of dark energy jolted out of her fur and made contact with the Linoone.

The weasel like Pokemon, who had already been greatly weakened suddenly turned limp in Shadow's paw. The Umbreon froze. What… what had just happened…? Suddenly, just like before, blood leaked out of the Linoone's mouth. His glazed over eyes looked up at her- Shadow looked away, her brain still comprehending the death.

It suddenly all clicked together… The blood dripping… soaking her paw… The lifeless eyes… the motionless body… He was dead. It wasn't his fault… she had done it… she didn't control herself… He was so young… he had so much of his life to live-

A wave of nausea overtook the Umbreon and her world faded into darkness.

--------------------------------------------------

Koja looked grimly up at the sun. It was only midday and Pokemon from both sides of the army just seemed to keep coming. He was exhausted. He had just the last two hours fighting… and now he was going to fight… and fight… and fight… This didn't mean to say that he wasn't used to such exercise- fighting was almost second nature to him. He kicked and attacked on reflex- heck he nearly even killed on reflex.

At other times, Koja might have been frightened because of this, but now- his body was an emotionless killing machine. He knew exactly which were the weak points of the enemies who came to him- courtesy all the Pokemon who attacked him when they saw he was an exiled on. He knew which certain attacks and combos would effectively work on his opponents- courtesy the twisted training he had done in his early childhood with… that trainer. He knew that in the rules of combat and war, one must never look into the ears of your opponent- for more then once that would cause hesitation in a killing blow.

So now… all Koja's brain was concentrating on was to kill… It was morbid- but that was what one did in wars, right? Koja slashed at an a charging Meowth before dealing another blow which sent that cat like creature flying into one of his allies.

Suddenly, Koja collapsed against a rock, his body suddenly realizing that he was exhausted and actually using more of his physical body then he was meant to. Fortunately, the Pokemon around him covered his back- they somehow knew that he had done a lot. Koja gazed up at the sky and at the battlefield. At the corner of his eye, two Fearrow was carrying off an unconscious Swampert.

Bodies littered the plains and blood had stained the grass. Koja averted his eyes. He had been taught that if you looked too long at those types of things, you would normally have a fear for battle and death. Koja focused on the living creatures.

There were stragglers here and there fighting, like him. But the original excitement and blood rush had vanished. Koja coughed. Those Pokemon… the Pokemon that he'd fought… they were powerful- extremely powerful.

The only reason why he'd been able to defeat them all by himself was because of his extensive training with that dammed cursed human. It was almost ironic- that that human had actually saved his life… in a very off hand manner. Koja chuckled darkly.

Gone were the days when he was weak and called the runt. Even he could feel the large power inside his body- and it seemed to keep growing. Mysteriously, he had no idea why his body acted like it did when he had fought… a few moments ago.

It was like he had lost control- like if it wasn't him. Koja knew that sometimes whenever he fought- he had an extreme lust for blood and death. It was unnatural, it was-

A large dark shadow suddenly blocked out the sun, and Koja glanced upwards. A glint of steel reflected of the sun and soon Koja recognized exactly who that was: that blasted Skarmory- Skye.

Growling, Koja struggled to get up. He was not letting him get away. Even if his body was near to collapsing in a dead faint, Koja wanted answers- now. The Absol called out,

"SKYE! GET DOWN HERE!"

The Pokemon around him, especially his allies looked surprised but Koja ignored them. He had no reputation here, so he didn't have one to ruin,

"SKYE!"

The Skarmory turned in mid-flight. After looking at the small group of Pokemon gazing up at him he glided down serenely. Koja snarled at him.

"I want answers. You are going to tell them to me- yes. I KNOW you can talk!"

Skye's eyes widened and the Skarmory sighed before he did what Koja expected him to do.

"Yes. I can talk. And- okay, this is not a good time-"

Koja grabbed Skye by the Bird Pokemon's long slender neck and shook it furiously, "I have had enough with your stupid-"

The Absol didn't get any further for he suddenly found that he had been punched and was flying backwards through the air. He crash landed on the ground. What had happened! Koja got up shakily, and gingerly rubbed his left cheek- the target of the punch. A Machoke was standing next to Skye, breathing heavily.

"Don't you dare touch my friend… you piece of trash!" shouted the Machoke, "You were choking him for no reason!"

The Fighting type ran forward angrily. Koja raised an eyebrow- the Machoke was… on the opposite side. This meant… Skye was a traitor! Something must have snapped inside Koja, for the Absol, suddenly conjured a huge ball of dark energy and set it flying towards the Machoke's power belt. The belt snapped in two and the Machoke fell to the ground screaming in pain. Koja ran forward, his eyes in frenzy. He drew back his claw for the finishing kill when-

"You don't need to kill him." Skye blocked Koja's path.

"I can kill both of you… especially you- traitor!" seethed Koja and started to push past the Skarmory.

"If you act like that… then-"

Skye's drew up his wing and with full force and the hard steel feathers crashed into Koja's face.

"I am going to have to officially betray you."

* * *


	21. Chapter 21: Death Is A Terrible Thing

Hello! To

**Stealthfire001**

**Foxyjosh **

**Hana **(thank you thank you! I feel so much better now!)

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEW!

Sorry for the lateness! -- I've been WAY over my head writing speeches for school… And I've been stuck in bed with a high fever.

The chapters will be getting out quite speedily now. I've basically worked out everything, but I love reviews and your support!

I'm estimating that there would be… four more chapters after this… yup, only four.

Oh and yes the page dividers STILL aren't working! . (Ya know the things that I use to separate the chapter titles from the actual chapter) GRRR... Does anyone else have this problem? Or is it just me?

**EDIT 9/10/06 September 10 2006- Nvm... I figured out a way to get the ruler line things in! **

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 21: 

Death Is A Terrible Thing

* * *

Flying backwards, Koja saw the world through a blurred vision. He crashed forcefully against a boulder, the impact sending pain waves through his body. Dizzy, the Absol glanced at the Skarmory coming speedily towards him. The sudden anger that had swelled up in Koja a few moments ago changed into confusion… he just couldn't… believe it. The Skarmory just didn't fit the job description of a betrayer- the eyes… the body language… it was all wrong. 

But he couldn't gape at the Pokemon like an idiot either. Koja bounded away swiftly. He didn't really want to fight Skye, as a matter of fact. Whether it was that indecision because Skye had once been a friend (or seemed to be one) or that Koja still didn't believe that Skye was a traitor … one would never know. Koja ducked behind a large bush as a blast of wind came hurtling his way.

But even as Koja flattened himself against the ground, he grimaced as he felt a gust of it wind down at his back, a few cuts being opened up- Razor Wind… He definitely had to get to the bottom of this. Another blast of wind came towards him, and Koja swore softly as he felt the sharp air current slicing across his fur.

Standing up straight, Koja turned to Skye, his eyes fully alert- just in case that Machoke suddenly came back from unconsciousness again…

"Skye… I've got no idea what's going on here. I don't blame myself for dealing out damage to your friend back then…" Koja shouted quickly, "He was on the enemy's side, what was I supposed to do? Hug him? No, I'm not angry anymore… Now can you explain things? Yes, even if you ARE betraying us, state why!"

Skye hovered above, his eyes cold, "I betrayed you all for my voice, my reputation and my family… You above everyone else should know how it is like to be alone, Koja."

"What do you mean! You've had your voice all along- it was just a… a guise… right?"

"No. I was born mute. My reputation? I had none- who wanted to associate with a Pokemon would couldn't speak? My family. They had a harsh time for the others in our flock. So I left- recently I found out… that my family is being held captor by the Dark Lord. I meet with him. I offer up my skills for my voice, my reputations and my family. The Lord agrees. The job's been finished- I'm on my way to get my family and run from this place."

Koja's eyes widened, but concentrated on the present, "How about… how about Pep? You left everyone who cared for you…? Not even that, you betrayed them fully? You- but the Dark Lord is evil!"

A glimmer of the old Skye danced in the Steel Pokemon's eyes, before being shut away, "I do what I have to do… I know that Lord is evil- the least I can do is save my family from him."

"That's almost… shameful…" said Koja, his shouts turning to pleas, "You could've… gone to proper Gods…!"

"What did the 'proper Gods' do for me? They gave me no voice and let my sister die... if you've been looking the perfect God Koja, you're in the wrong world."

Koja shook his head, "But-"

"Forget it Koja… and just fight me."

Skye's wing smashed into Koja's face ending the brief conversation. Koja felt the blunt pain immediately but even with the small amount of surprise in his mind… he was fighting now- Nothing else. A trickle of blood from a cut lip dribbled down his chin and Koja licked at it.

Bloodlust…

The addiction was almost too hard to handle, almost too hard to avoid- and Koja did not try. From when he was young and enslaved by that human, he had always known he had been born to battle till his last. He had been bred to not fear blood or death. He had been trained to like it. It was almost twisted, but no others knew and Koja kept this dark secret to himself, sometimes wondering if he had a split personality… indeed as whenever battle came his own body was uncontrollable at most times and he only seemed to make vague commands… like someone else controlled it.

But… this was not the time or the place to think about this. He had to think quickly… speedily. The move sets, the attacks, the weak points, the strategies… what would bring that bird of steel down… to death?

He knew. Immediately, Koja jumped away, already sensing that he stayed too long in one position- true enough, a blast of wind forced the ground to create a huge indent. Glancing up, Koja jumped into the air and closed his eyes briefly… he could almost feel his blood pounding on his veins already- Koja did a few somersaults, and howled. Yes, this was what many called the Swords Dance. He knew it as when he inner self came out to battle- and be the victor at the end.

New energy flowed throw his body and Koja leaped onto a boulder, faster and stronger then before. Skye seemed to see this and immediately adjusted his flying position, his body taking in a streamlined shape, his speed increasing. Koja jumped off the boulder, flying in the air knowing he was just in time to catch Skye. Opening up his jaws, the Dark Type started to gather dark energy in it, hoping to unleash the power at Skye's neck- one of a Skarmory's tender areas, it would be most vulnerable to attack.

The Skarmory, still high above narrowed his eyes and though fear still seemed to glimmer there, Skye flatted his wings against his sides and shot down, his aerodynamic form reaching intense speeds as he flew towards Koja. Koja's eyes widened- it was too late to turn back… and it was he who would probably face the greater damage… Why didn't he think of this? Skye's steel body would protect him from the physical impact and though the damage done from the dark energy would be high, Skye would still be able to last… Koja cursed inwardly.

Then, out of nowhere… A Dark Shape came hurling through the air, its body heading wildly towards the collision point, a shrill high scream accompanying it.

Koja's eyes widened even more, as did Skye's own grey orbs.

There was only one creature, one Pokemon who could make that noise…

And that was Pep.

The two knew exactly what was going to happen next and they both knew with instant dread that they could not stop.

For she was going to face and bear the pain, the incredible damage of both attacks.

--------------------------------------------------

Shadow shook her head in an action of confusion but winced upon feeling pain ripple through her head- the headache stemmed from when she fainted and hit her head on the ground hard after… after killing that… poor… but twisted Linoone. An hour later she awoke here and had been told by Inferno that Pep, Koja and Skye were in high danger for their lives… behind that boulder.

Shadow gazed at it, as if willing the large rock to open. Gods… first this headache… then… this… why?

Suddenly, the boulder made a groaning sound and rolled slowly to the left. Shadow bounded closer, anxious for what had happened to her friends. The boulder that had been rolled away had revealed a large inner cavern. From there Chansey beckoned to Shadow silently, as if where she stood was a sacred place. Shadow followed quickly, not really liking the altogether darkness of the whole place...

Almost instantly the boulder rolled back into place and the Chansey scampered off through this tunnel and that tunnel, Shadow trying to keep up with her headache slowing her down. Moans echoed eerily through the halls and it wasn't more then once that Shadow heard cries of pain. They must have been the casualties… Shadow shuddered and kept closer to the Chansey. War was a terrible thing…

A sharp tug at her fur nearly had Shadow jumping out of her skin but it was only the Chansey as the nurse Pokemon pulled her into a dimly lit chamber. Shadow gasped softly as her night vision picked out Koja, Pep and Skye. Where they all right…? They looked… fine… no sign of major damage, but but- why then would they be brought here if they had no wounds? It was then that Mew entered and the light nearly blinded her. Shadow averted her eyes and blinked trying to get used to it.

"Your friends, two of them will make it… One will not." He said gently, the God levitating low enough to meet her eye to eye.

The Chansey took this as the signal to leave and did so. Shadow shook her head.

"They look fine…"

"That is because I healed them- they came in with serious injuries."

"What… what happened?" Shadow murmured quietly, "What happened?"

"The Absol and Skarmory were involved in a fight- the Poochyeena interfered."

Shadow took a sharp intake of breath… no… she knew that Koja

"It doesn't matter…" Mew replied quietly, "The Absol will live- he sustained the least damage. The Skarmory will live also. The Poochyeena… will not…"

Shadow stared numbly at Pep, who was lying on a crude bed of grass, her body limp, "You're the God of Life though… they can't- you can't, you can make them live… can't you?"

"Too much life force has already left the little one's body."

Shadow nodded mutely, though she trembled. Pep was going to die… It was wrong… horrible… but true. Life force…? She had learnt about it as a young child. Each Pokemon was born with life force in them- how much of it depended on age and health. When the life force ran out, one died.

"Her family will be called in soon, to say farewell…" tears were beginning to gather on the God's eyes, "Death is a terrible tragedy isn't it… Shadow?"

Shadow herself looked up, her shock with Pep disappearing as she stared at the tears. Mew's tears- the sight of this made her own tears start to gather and Shadow drew deep breaths… No… NO… NO… Pep couldn't… die… It was so blatant… so sudden…

"She's not going to die."

Shadow looked up. Skye was standing on two shaky legs, his eyes feverish but determined and repeated himself.

"She's not going to die."

--------------------------------------------------

Skye shook his head and even so felt the weakness in his bones… the feeling that death was near… no… not yet… a few more steps… a few more words…

"She's not going to die… Pep." His voice was raspy, so different from yesterday.

"Skye… no… she… you're talking…" Shadow trailed off and Skye knew the Umbreon thought she was going mad in his last few hours.

Skye glanced at the Umbreon, "We don't have any time for Koja will explain my story later."

Mew floated towards him and placed a refined gentle paw on his forehead. Immediately a little bit of his pain seemed to vanish. Skye murmured a strained thanks.

"Explain, Child of the Sky."

"You can transfer my remaining life force into her." He said steadily, "I'm going to die already. It doesn't matter if it's in a few hours or in a few minutes, doesn't it?"

Mew's brow creased, "It's a very honorable decision-"

"I'm not doing it for honor Mew. I'm doing it for her- Pep. I'm doing it because if I can't at least save my family, save anyone, I'll try saving her." Growled Skye, "Don't you dare tell me it's for honor. You and the other Immortals sitting up there in the highest peaks of the sky have no idea what life is like for the mortals. I trust no God anymore… I just ask that you do it for Pep- because she has the strongest childish faith in you."

Normally a Pokemon might have been smote which a large amount of power by speaking to a God like that. But the circumstances and scenario were the not usual ones and even then Mew said nothing but sighed deeply. Shadow was looking on with shock.

"I deeply regret that you're so… like that. But know this I respect, even if you don't respect me. I love you, even you if you don't love me- you're one of my children. Do you still want to… give your life force?"

Skye nodded and already he could see Shadow's silent protest and he grimaced. Fortunately she didn't know the whole story yet. Or else the whole world might have been against him… The whole story… the betrayal… his family… the dark lord- Skye eyes widened as he followed Mew to a stone table… He had no concern how the Gods would fare in this ware, but he knew that if things would continue as they were… with Shadow chosen… the war… the deaths for good… for the Pokemon… not the Gods… it would all be useless.

Skye vaguely heard Mew levitating him onto the table, laying him down flat, Shadow watching with wide scared eyes. He faintly felt her noise nuzzle his beak, it seemingly wet with tears. There were no words, but the meaning was clear… Skye smiled as he saw Pep being brought over. Ever since he had come of age, he had felt some soft of… responsibility for her. So wherever she went, he went. She was his 'little sister' in his eyes… a replacement that he had so long sought after when his sister had died… Pep- Pepper. Skye shook his head…

His thoughts were getting slightly weaker now. He glanced at Mew. Was that… tears… he saw? No. Definitely not. If anything they were tears of sadistic joy. He wasn't going to turn from his beliefs now nor ever. But still… he had to tell him… Mew… everything… it was vital. A few more minutes were all he needed.

"Mew… I need… you… to preserve my memories… for me…" croaked Skye, "You'll find them useful."

The God looked up from his work, the green, almost spirit like life force floating in a line into Poochyeena from Skye. Mew nodded and placed his palm on Skye's head.

"Show me."

And so Skye did.

--------------------------------------------------

Mew watched the life force channel continuously in the young Poochyeena, all the while gazing at the Skarmory called Skye. There wasn't much left in the Pokemon… And there was just enough for the little one. He had to be remembered. The Umbreon beside him, Shadow glanced at the procedure, her facial expression a mixture of grief and fearfulness.

Mew shook his head. His brain already filing the new startling memories and information away. It would change the whole course of their plan… It would… it would…

The last of the life force was coming out.

Mew blinked tears away and gazed at the Skarmory, who eyes were flickering closed.

"Goodbye my child."

"Thank you." Was the reply.

Mew took his hands away.

He leaned forward.

And with his right hand closed the Skarmory's eyelids.

It was over.

--------------------------------------------------

"Skye… Skye… Skye! Wake up!"

Pep pranced onto the stone table before her. She felt kind of tired, but she was ready for play. A little while ago, she had woke up and a Chansey had checked up on her and said she was alright and all that grown up stuff. Then she had run off when the Chansey left because she was so bored. She'd seen Skye lying on this table so now she wasn't to wake him up!

Phew… she really thought she was going to get real hurt when she saw Koja and Skye fighting. But they were just a little mad and she fixed it all 'cause the nurses here fixed everyone up fine. Now she had to get Skye to play with her.

"Skye!"

No answer. Pep raised one eyebrow before giggling to herself. He was pretending to be asleep! Because, if he was really asleep he would snore- and she knew Skye always snored when he slept and boy was he ever loud. Scampering over to his face she yelled,

"SKYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

No answer.

Strange. How about… tickling?

No… that didn't work.

Pep felt a little afraid as she tugged on Skye's wing, "Skye… come on. This isn't fun anymore. Can we do something else? Wake up properly now!"

Skye didn't budge. Pep trembled. What… what was wrong with Skye?

"SKYE! SKYE! SKYE! SKYE! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

But still no answer came. So Pep kept yelling and screaming and kicking, driving herself into frenzy.

She knew… she just Skye had to be alright… but why was he like this…?

Why? Why? Whyyyyyyyy-

Footsteps. Mother. Father. Leo…

"Pep… Pep… he's dead… " her mother came and tried to calm her daughter down.

But Pep couldn't listen. She wouldn't.

"HE'S NOT DEAD!" she shrieked, "HE'S NOT! HE'S NOT! HE'S THE SUPER SUPER COOL TOO COOL TO BE ACTUALLY BE TRUE BUT IS TRUE SKARMORY!"

The words echoed loudly through the chamber, taking a few moments to fade back into silence.

And suddenly the cold cold truth dawned on the little Poochyeena.

And she broke down in tears, her body clutched at her lifelong guardian.

When they told her to get off… for the ceremony… his funeral…

She only cried harder. They had to drag her off.

And even then she still heaved sobs like there was no tomorrow.

For Skye was dead. And no one was bringing him back.

* * *


	22. Chapter 22: Fate can be so Fragile

I'm extremely sorry for the long update. TT

WAY long story, pointless so it won't be here.

Anyway, three more chapters till it ends. Chapter 25.

Read. Skim Read. Whatever. The plot and characters of this story have been severely mucked up by me (due to lack of writing experience).

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 22:

Fate can be so Fragile

* * *

"Excuse me, sir, excuse me sir…"

Koja dazedly saw through blinking eyes a young Growlithe shaking him from slumber. Growling lowly, the Absol glanced up at the newcomer through narrowed eyes,

"What."

"You're wanted in one of the bigger chambers by the Gods… Please come with me."

The word 'Gods' immediately slapped attention into Koja's face, the Dark Type getting up immediately. Them again? Now what did they want…? This was the first sleep he had had for ages and he was meant to spend the whole day sleeping to recover his strength… However, he doubted that it was a wise idea to just keep on sleeping so the Absol got up wearily and nodded to the Growlithe, signaling that he could start walking.

They had the funeral for Skye… a few hours ago. There weren't many Pokemon there of course- Pep's family, he, Shadow, Sami, Inferno, Ditto, Zan… and Mew. Pep was sobbing full out through the whole service, never stopping once. But… somewhere along the line as she went up to drop a wildflower on her guardian… the tears stopped suddenly, and for the rest of the service, she sat silent by her parents.

Now, she sat near the entrance of the caves- near a hole that let light peek in. The young Pokemon would sit there, day and night, still as stone, looking up at the sky… much subdued. He knew her mother was worried- the Poochyeena hadn't eaten for a day now, nor had she talked. He himself didn't know what was worse… her constant sobbing and wailing before… or this. Koja shook his head, suddenly aware that he had stopped in thought, and carried on walking.

He wondered what the 'Gods' might have in store for him. His rank had somewhat been promoted highly through the battle… just because of Shadow's position. He hadn't even seen her since the funeral and the two hadn't spoken once. He had better do it soon- better apologize, better talk, better say everything before… she went. He'd better not think about that.

"In here."

The Absol was roused out of his thoughts again as the Growlithe pulled him into a dimly lit chamber. To his great surprise, he sawy each and everyone of the Immortals there… From Jirachi to Latias, right down to Regirock and Zapdos. Standing next to Articuno was Shadow, and even then she did not smile at him, but briefly nodded, unsettling the white furred Pokemon.

Bowing deeply the Growlithe came and left, Koja copying the bow and holding it while he greeted the Gods in the highest form of respect.

When Mew saw that Koja was done, he started, "Koja… from the death of your friend Skye, we have been granted used of his memories through him and, we found things that have great relevance to you…"

"Before you go on…" Koja started, asking to two questions that had burned to be asked for a long time, " was Skye really bent on saving his family… and did he really have no voice before?"

"Whatever he told you, was true." Replied Mew, "His family is still held captive… or dead. He had only been granted his voice back very recently. Is that all… Koja?"

"Yes…"

Mew swallowed and glanced around, where heads nodded gravely in return. Koja blinked, wondering what was happening. He looked again to Shadow for some clue, but all she gave him was a sad smile.

"We have both good news for you… and bad news…" replied Mew, settling slowly on his choice of words so far.

The celestial mouse like God turned his head to Latias who smiled gently at him, "The good news is that your friend, Shadow, the Umbreon will no longer have to forfeit her life as a sacrifice."

Koja momentarily opened his mouth a little in happy surprise, but the recognition that something bad was yet to come… let the happiness fade away immediately.

"And… the bad news?" he asked, with great dread.

"You, in place of Shadow will have to forfeit your life to banish the Dark Lord."

--------------------------------------------------

If an outsider looked at this would tangle of messes, mysteries and knots… that Koja should be sacrificed instead of Shadow… would be one hundred percent logical. However, the Pokemon (like Shadow, Pep, and Koja) and Immortals the reader meets were not outsiders to this tangle, but the very key and part of it. Thus, when they looked at it all with emotions, opinion and perspective, they found it haywire madness, illogical, confusing… that Koja be sacrificed instead of Shadow.

But the already known truths were now armed with facts from Skye's memory and the cast were finishing putting together a jigsaw puzzle that they didn't want to complete… but had to. Thus, as Koja looked as if he would shatter, and confusion lit up his face, the explanations had to come.

"Firstly… to start at the beginning." Said Celebi slowly, "We looked back at the old prophecy. I am sure you have heard of it… _When Ice Snow Pack's adopted member, Is wrongly accused of murder and a kill, When the darkness wailed out and everything went still_…?"

Both Shadow and Koja nodded slowly, these words to them sounding like the proclamation of doom.

"Well," continued the Guardian of Time, "Since Shadow… evolved in such… different circumstances, the poem can be easily interpreted to pertain to her… but, if you go back and look carefully. She is not the one that matches this. That, and we were told that this was planned… to happen by searching in Skye's memories."

Shadow and Koja looked up, both equally surprised. It might have been almost amusing to see that both did the exact same movement at the exact same time- in another place, in another time, in another universe.

"Our presence as Immortals drove it away as it came here, but since you've been born… a powerful Gengar was instructed on a life long mission to follow you wherever you went, basically living in you. Since this creature was powerful, you were granted a share of it's power when the Gengar saw that it would benefit it's mission- normally when the power came, the Gengar started to control your mind.

While your eyes by themselves are a very rare shade of shocking icy blue for an Umbreon or Evee, a large reason why they used to be so intimidating was that though Pokemon couldn't tell what it was, they could probably sense the Gengar dwelling in your eyes. Bad luck probably came from whatever the Gengar did to jinx things up for you. It normally exposed itself more in the shadows and felt safer, more powerful and more dominant there. You probably picked up it's emotions, thus what causing your fear of shadows. All this combined was to make you stand out to the Gods- while your friend here… was overlooked."

Shadow sighed in relief while Koja glanced at her. So she was not a monster or some kind of curse. Yes… she had noticed a change of heart secretly… when she and Koja snapped at each other before they met the Elementals. But she thought that her change was mainly because of his arguments… not the Gengar leaving her…

"Koja on the other hand," Moltres went on, "Matched our prophecy perfectly. His is _Ice Snow Pack's_-now named Mountain Claw's- _adopted member_, he _was wrongly accused of murder and a kil_l… the reason you were wrongly exiled and why you harbor much hate against your father and family. You did _wail out_, too."

Koja nodded weakly, knowing this all was the truth but not wanting to accept it. Another God, Entei, spoke up, taking his turn,

"_Koja of darkness and flame_- you are of the dark type and I would guess that you flaming red eyes and anger would suffice. _When the shadow is owned by man and trembles_, I'll not go to length on it… to save you the pain."

"You don't need to tell us… anymore." Said Koja in response, weakly, remembering the experience with his old trainer.

Entei nodded understandably.

Shadow's voice, suddenly tiny in the prescence of so many Gods, spoke up, "Am a year old… or two years old…? Am I adopted…? Was I born in an eclipse of not…? Please… answer."

Celebi once again spoke up, time being his speciality, "You are two years old. You're unnaturally small so your pack, when they adopted you…thought you were a whole year younger. Of course, with the Gengar lurking around, no one came near to you, so no one really spent enough time with you to find out your real age… You were probably born in an eclipse…"

Shadow nodded before turning her eyes to the ground, suddenly downcast. Koja glanced at her understanding her feelings. Even for her, at early two years of age, she had been granted some sort of innocence… and now… war had forced the Umbreon to grow up within an hour. And he… Had to grow up so immensely… to die.

"The last thing you have yet to fufill and little time to do so is to find your mother, or father. Otherwise everything will have been useless.

The thoughts were… shocking… surreal, almost. After all, what would one think? How would one feel? If someone told you that you would die? So soon… so abnormally… so sudden. And even if you tried to fill your remaining hours to deny your fate, to brush your friends away, do everything to run and hide…

You knew at one certain point that you couldn't hide the truth to yourself any longer. You were going to die- no question.

Hopefully the shattering of your emotions won't be too painful.

--------------------------------------------------

The news of the change of the 'sacrifice' spread quickly, albeit quietly. It was the perfect demonstration of what some might call the ripple effect. The Immortals themselves didn't tell anyone… but the truth was edged out of both Shadow and Koja by Ditto and the rest and of course… Ditto told Zan who told Inferno who told both Sami and Pep who told her family who told… and this went on, and on, till the whole fortress knew, each Pokemon still thinking that the knowledge they'd just been confided still a secret. But secrets, no matter how few or how many people knew that secret will find it hard to stay secrets…

It was thus that when Koja and Shadow were walking to the medical area when the Umbreon was tapped on the shoulder. Both turned in surprise automatically, wondering who had done that action… Certain reverence had already been placed on Koja and Shadow was somehow reverted to her old rank of quiet avoidance. Practically no Pokemon, other then Inferno and the rest would do such a thing and even then, no one like Ditto or Zan would just tap them on the shoulder…

Shadow's eyes widened. It was Kaz, one of the more powerful Jolteon's in her old pack- she meant, the White Paw Pack, not her old pack. She was about to brush him off when she remembered that he was one of the few Pokemon who stood up for her, requesting that she be let off… for that… murder.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly.

Koja looked from Shadow to Kaz, he obviously not knowing the latter.

"It might be best if we talk in private," started Kaz, throwing a glance at Koja, "Even if he is the new- I mean… Can we talk in private?"

"Whatever you want to say to me you can say to him." Replied Shadow, wondering why they sent him to her, "And besides that… You're not meant to speak to me… Save yourself the danger and turn around… Either that or you're here to tell me that I'm meant to be executed for violating one of the rules of an exiled one when I encountered you, Blaze and the rest… right?"

"Wrong…" mumbled the Jolteon, and even though he was much older then her, speaking to her comfortably was a feat he had yet to accomplish.

"Well?"

Shadow wondered what he wanted to say... It had be good… But what 'good' was she didn't knew. If only he'd just spit it out…!

"Well, it's very good news for you, Shadow. The pack has decided that… well…"

"Can you please finish it?" interrupted Koja, his patience waning.

He was already on edge by the sudden news to him of death… He had asked forgiveness for whatever wrong he had done about ten minutes ago with his family… and all the misinterpretations he had. But. He immediately then turned his back on them, refusing to be let back into the pack… What was the point anyway? Half the Pokemon in his old pack didn't want him in anyway, the Council was still in power, and he was never going have enough time to be promoted from his current rank, between now and the end, anyway…

"Okay…. You see, when the news got to us that you were not to be the sacrifice…" Kaz trailed off before starting again, "Well, you are granted something that I doubt… has ever been done before. You are allowed to came back into the White Paw Pack after exile…"

--------------------------------------------------

"I know, you're really against this Koja… just like last time… but I have to do this." Shadow's voice was shaky, but firm, "Remember what Kaz said? The vote was unanimous- everything agreed! I know, the only reason they want me back is because I'm some chosen child of the Gods who isn't a monster or curse anymore… but still..."

The Umbreon and the Koja were talking it out in a secluded room far from the activities going on in the mountain.

"I'm not strong like you Koja. Even with a few months of exile and I feel like a large chunk of my life is gone. Sure, half of them still hate me and I practically didn't enjoy life before… but there's basically nothing left for me… I'm not used enough to human things to hang around with Sami or things like that… I can't stand the looks quite a few Pokemon have given me, how they've treated me… just because of two scars on my legs. Travelling in this world has made me realize… that it's so much bigger then I though it was… I can't find my parents anymore…I don't have the will to do it alone. Somewhere along the line I know they're dead. Please, don't let us get into a fight like last time… Please Koja…"

The Shadow expected an outburst anyway, and waited in gloomy anticipation. However, Koja seemed to be far from angry… if anything he was quite emotionless.

"I know you well enough that whatever my opinion is on this matter… you'll just go ahead and do it anyway. A few days ago, I might have blown up at you… but not now. I will never approve Shadow and even though my heart is set very strongly against it… go ahead, go join the pack- whatever makes you happy pup."

But… this reaction from him was definitely not what she expected. And if it was meant to be less harsh and make her feel more comfortable about joining the White Paw Pack… while it didn't. Strangely, the Umbreon found that the more she thought about the way and how he said it… she was beginning to feel guilty… very guilty about joining. This was almost… Koja's last wish, and she was practically ignoring it… Why couldn't he have been fuming mad? That would have made her turn on a rebellious streak in her and join… but no… Shadow sighed. Things could be so complicated some times. She'd think about it…

"I'm very sorry to interrupt, but there's been a sudden breach in our forces by the enemy and you're needed immediately."

Shadow ground her teeth. Loudly.

Koja swore. Loudly.

Both knew that the countdown timer for their last time together was up.

Fate could be so fragile.

Hopefully when it broke this time, it wouldn't cause so much pain.

Hopefully.

* * *


	23. Chapter 23: Obstacles

Yups. Finally updated.

* * *

Shadow leapt over a trio of low flying pidgey's from her vantage point on the hill. Beside her, Koja's eyes roved around the battlefield, glancing at the fighting Pokemon along side them.

"It's-it's not much further!" the little wingull who had so blatantly interrupted them seemed to have at last recognize the deep offense that he had made.

Koja didn't answer and Shadow merely nodded, giving the younger Pokemon an icy glare to tell him that he was not yet forgiven. How could she? It didn't matter if he had orders from a higher power. It wasn't sensible to blame him, but… well, she couldn't find anyone else to blame. She was at least thinking correctly enough at least to not blame Koja for his own coming death and there was something in her that couldn't blame herself. This caused tendrils of guilt in the Umbreon's heart but she brushed them away hastily… She knew she should be feeling guilty but-

An Ivysaur's vine whip lunged at them from behind, knocking out the Umbreon's previous thoughts and letting her automatically direct a ball of energy towards the Grass Type. She ran on, forcing herself not to look back and trying to shut out the terrible cry of pain that somehow could still be heard so shockingly clearly above the rest of screams in the battlefield. Shadow shuddered as she instinctively felt the thud -even though she was so far away- that signaled death. She weakly made the last few steps onto the summit of the hill where she could feel the power of the Elementals radiate off from where they were. As she bowed deeply towards her sovereign Gods, the Umbreon again, forced herself to shut out the gory sights of blood, flesh and broken bone on the Pokemon below her.

"Lord Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno…" the Wingull made a quick bow before Zapdos nodded to him, dismissing the escort.

The Wingull flew off, obviously terrified by this unexpectant war and anxious to arrive back at the cave where he would safe until receiving further orders. The Umbreon watched him, her back turned away from the Gods who were talking to Koja, her ears tense in anticipation as if she knew something would happen in the next few seconds. She was right. Even before a few seconds had passed, the Wingull was brutally hit by a Golem's dynamic punch, and was sent plummeting down to the earth so fast… Shadow nearly missed it. But the shrill cry was there. The snap of broken bones was there. In an instant, as Shadow turned back to the matters concerning her, she forgave that Wingull… and wondered if this was some sort of punishment fate had dealt out for her cold, harsh reception towards that little bird. Fate… A power, an authority, higher then the Gods themselves.

Suddenly, the Elementals, the three great birds… shrank small and weak in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as she saw they, Mew, and Koja move their lips but her ears refused to take in the sound. Bitterly she gazed upon those childhood role models and divine beings that up to now, she had held a childish belief that the Gods, the Goddesses, those immortal beasts of great power- would never let the world fall into chaos, would control evil, would be the great bastions of power and wisdom to control everything. Bitterly, again, Shadow glanced at Koja who looked more troubled by each passing second.

Through still deafened ears that refused to hear, Shadow watched with some surprise as Mew reached out his hand and placed his palm on Koja's forehead. It was only then that Shadow realized with sudden dread that something was going on, that by the sweat and eyes clenched tight, that Shadow knew there was still a final trial of burden to be carried out.

The moment hand and head made contact, did Shadow's hearing suddenly come blasting back. The warcries and yells of the battlefield blasted into her ears, but she did not notice that. She was watched with shock as she saw the Absol fly backwards, his eyes still shut as in great pain, as if he had been punched in the gut by some unseen force. A small sound came from Articuno beside her and a beam of ice rushed past Koja and formed into a huge thick wall, in an effort to stop the flying Absol. Shadow gritted her teeth, not knowing what was going on but waited for that inevitable thunk of Koja hitting the wall and sliding down.

But he went through it. Fire erupted from the Absol's back, melting the ice into pure water and still he hurtled backwards. It was not only till he was plummeting towards the ground that the Absol somehow shook his horn… and with wide eyes, Shadow watched as her friend was blown back by a gust of winds and landed softly back where he started. Even still, Shadow could feel the raw power crackling in front of her.

"What did you to him?" It wasn't a question but a statement, a command.

Even while looking into the eyes of the most powerful beings in the universe, did Shadow not quake. What more could be done with her?

Articuno met her eyes, the great bird's irises contracting with surprise at the defiance the Umbreon showed. Mew sighed softly as if this was expected and began by pointing at Koja who was currently yelling and pawing and clawing at unseen opponents.

"I am Mew. The Beginning and the End. Every energy, every power, every force there is in the world, I have a portion of that. That, and another power, has been gifted to your friend. The other power I will explain briefly later. There are currently many forces fighting for supremecy inside your friend. This is the basic, simple law to energy in our world. You see, if I sent a bolt of lightning upon Articuno over there, it's power would deal much more damage then foresay, would a blast of fire because water is weak against lightning. You know that much, do not you?"

Shadow nodded.

"What you do not know is that when the lightning bolt makes contact with Articuno, it actually enters her very being and the forces that make her one of Water, Ice and of the Sky. It fights for supremacy, to banish all other resisting forces in Articuno. Of course some of the water, ice and sky will be destroyed and replaced with electrical energy, but they can be regenerated as long as the remaining forces push out the electrical force. If the force completely demolishes the Pokemon's native energy or does enough structural damage, the Pokemon dies. Any Pokemon's body, except for the rare few breeds and almost nonexistent others, automatically banishes foreign energy and stocks native energy, like Squirtles using the ocean to their benefit.

But for the rare few… They can accept foreign energy and store it, as long as they themselves can still keep control of it and let it control them. I am one of them. Koja is also one of the rare few. He is still in the act of trying to control his energy."

Shadow watched, her heart caught against her throat as she watched blasts of Earth, Water, Sky and Fire get shot out from Koja. He was screaming, kicking, raging, yelling. And for the freaking good of the world, she had to stand still and watch.

--------------------------------------------------

Even though Shadow knew, that the site chosen for a great battle like this had to be quite large to fit the masses of sparring Pokemon inside… This exceeded her expectations. But then, the Pokemon inside it, the amount and skill on both sides exceeded her expectations also. But even so, there was an eerie kind of surrealness surrounding it all. As if, the part of her self (which actually begged to take over and let her be her own age), was the center of any kind of innocence she had- the innocence which still uncannily believed that "everything would be all right". That somehow, Koja would make it. Her unfocused eyes drifted around her as her claws, fighting but not actually touching and feeling the torn flesh beneath them, ripped at an unlucky Gloom. In return sludge fell on her body, the dark slime, slowly seeping into her body.

Shadow winced in pain as the poison started to quickly take effect, cursing. But suddenly a white searing heat purged through her Shadow immediately knew what happened as she saw Koja glance back at her. How many other powers did he have? The unrealness of it caused the Umbreon to swallow. He was so overpowered it was almost scary, so powerful that Mew even trembled when he bid them farewell.

She shook her head out, letting all thoughts disappear as her eyes slid back into an unfocused state, as did all of her senses other than sight. An even that, seemed to have a misty haze on it. She might as well get lost in her own little world for now. Koja would keep her safe, and it dispelled any thoughts of the impending future.

For hours and ages it seemed that Shadow romped about like a puppy in her imagination, a world that had Skye flying about free with his family, the Dark Lord nonexistent and Koja accepted into his pack, he being her big brother. She was not an exile also and that old lady, that kind human grandmother of Sami was living in a lavish cave near them all along with Sami herself and all the other kind Pokemon Shadow knew. There was not a sense of evilness, not a hint of it, in that imagination. Or rather, daydream.

This faded back into reality as soon as Shadow crashed into Koja, the Absol halting to a stop suddenly. She apologized but her words seemed to make no sound. Her eyes snapped to six figures standing in a horizontal straight line, forming a hostile bloackage to the small mountain ahead. The Council: The Flareon, The Espeon, The Jolteon, The Vaporeon and The Two Umbreons. And as she stared, somehow knowing that a large fight was coming up, Shadow realized that that daydream she had lived in for apparently so long and not long enough could never, ever, possibly happen.

With bitterness, she knew that even if there was goodness…Evil had to lurk somewhere next to it. The two could not exist without the other. And with that basic rule of all life and time came the other rule of no perfect paradise here in the mortal world.

"_In fact,"_ thought Shadow as she saw the Flareon step forward, _"There isn't anything, any place, any life that can be fully happy. It can't exist."_

--------------------------------------------------

"We both know what you, Absol, and Umbreon are here to do." The Flareon's eyes were set with determination, "Until our death we will fight to keep you from reaching our Lord. No we are not going to let you pass by whatsoever method you choose that is different to the one we are choosing."

Koja didn't answer but nod once and sharply.

Before Shadow could process the thoughts fully and think out a battle plan, an huge shockwave vibrated through the ground, traveling at an incredibly frightening speed. In less then a second Shadow could feel it hit the six Pokemon. The six Pokemon that made up the Council. But, as she expected of Pokemon of such caliber, the Espeon in the group levitated them all off the ground instantly. Even if he hadn't as much sheer power as Koja, he had won other advantages from age and experience

Again, in a blink of an eye did the group surround the two and begin rapid fire, directed solely on Shadow, trying to take out the… weakest link first. In any other situation Shadow would've felt indignant and would've relied on that she had a strange power inside of her to call. But that was in her no more, and even if it had been, she was no match in any way to Koja who had somehow been raised to the power level of a god. Shards of ice smashed into her back and the Umbreon realized that she really had to do something, not just rely on the Absol next to her.

Ducking her head she closed her eyes in concentration before blinking out and reappearing a few metres to the left. But a simple trick like that would never be enough to catch such high leveled creatures out. Shadow repeated the process of blinking and teleporting here and there, shreds of fire, water and lightning just missing her. In between her teleportations of fainting in and out, the Umbreon proceeded to gather up dark energy in her eyes, Koja was battling them, she could sense that- but he was obviously restraining himself as to stay fresh for what was still to come. More energy… More… She had to cram more into those eyes…

She had to concentrate… Her eyes felt stretched beyond their limits, as if they were going to explode but- Shadow breathed heavily, drawing the last needed bit of power into her irises. She had it. Now! In her mind, she released the dark energy out, out, out!

In a split second the battlefield turned pitch dark, giving an advantage to dark types. This wasn't an attack or move that was taught to Pokemon by their teachers in clans or packs- it was purely made on battle instinct. Thus, it could be sure that a way to counter it could not come to soon. Rays of dark energy suddenly came caterwauling towards her with the intent of releasing them all from the darkness. Shadow bounded away, gasping as she felt the strain of what she had to do to keep the situation like this.

Wrong move. The sound alerted one of them, a Jolteon, who bounded towards her. Through her night vision, Shadow found it almost intriguing to see that, try as the eon might, he could make his electrical based powers give off light. A lightning bolt struck her, and the immense shock of it automatically let light suddenly snap back into focus. Shadow cursed and bolted away, the tingling feeling of electricity still humming through her fur. She turned around and growled at her opponent, swiping her sharp claws across his face.

He dodged and- erupted into flames!?! Shadow halted her movement as the Jolteon rolled through the ground, spreading dust on him to put the fire out. Even as he succeeded, he looked around, surprised, wondering who the new incomer might have been. Koja was dealing with the other five and preventing them from getting to her, so an attack from him was highly unlikely…

Inferno fainted in, materializing eerily in front of Shadow, his back to her as he faced the Jolteon. Beside him, Zan and Ditto bounded in, the Ditto taking the form of a Raichu with sparks cascading off his yellow fur. Inferno grinned at the Jolteon eerily, the gleam of his teeth and the red offset of his fur making him looking like the very on high, out of control pyromaniac he could be and currently was. A single claw was raised and from it, Inferno let a small flame be ignited from it.

"We're your reinforcements…" the Houndoom's grin widened, "Sami's little rebel army sent to party."

--------------------------------------------------

The battle evened out with the arrival of Inferno and the rest, Koja's workload lessening down to only two Pokemon. Even so, Shadow found it hard to keep up with the Council Members as they relayed strategies soundlessly and volleyed shot after shot of fire at her and the rest. They still had the advantage of being able to plan the whole thing out. Shadow glanced at her opponent, a Vaporeon who was opening her mouth- the Umbreon jumped out of fire range but suddenly crashed into hard, cold ice. What on earth?!

As she slid down, surprised she realized that the ice attack was not directed at her, but around her, creating a dome of ice where the two would fight undisturbed. Shadow swallowed. It would be harder to get any help if she needed it. That, and this new arena was incredibly small. There was no time to think, the Vaporeon was already letting water gush out of her mouth. Water filled the dome quickly, filling the entire floorspace and coming up to Shadow's ankles. With fear, she realized that if she didn't do something soon, she would and could be drowned. The surrounding walls of ice would take at least a few blasts of dark energy- a thing she couldn't do if this eon was constantly at her back. She lunged at the creature her jaws wide open.

The Vaporeon dodged, but that was expected. The Umbreon used her tail as a sling, flinging rocks at her opponent in several rapid movements, the wet rocks pelting the Vaporeon quite painfully. Shadow growled at the other eon, letting her teeth and fearsome eyes show clearly.

"Why!?!" she asked through bared teeth, "You know that sooner or later my friend, the Absol, he'll kill all of you. He has enough power to do so. So why battle!?"

The Vaporeon's eyes widened, she obviously did not think her 'enemy' would find any words suitable to bat her with. She stopped the flow of water.

"Whatever the great Master says we follow. I am the youngest of the Council. I follow in their footsteps."

"But why?" probed Shadow, "Why?!"

The Vaporeon shook her head, "Our path is a good one, we-"

"One of your own that I fought was so insistent that I kill him that he went on a two word rant!" Shadow snapped, "He was only a few months old!"

The Vaporeon looked like she had been slapped, "He probably… took the Master's sayings the wrong way. It is true that in battle, if one is probable to die, we will cause more destruction to our enemies rather then be taken prisoner or be unconscious… It is for the best."

"Tell me, my oh so esteemed opponent. Why then does your Master seek for chaos in the world, seek to destroy perfectly peaceful Pokemon and our Gods?"

At this the Vaporeon still to regain her composure, "That is the basis of our faith. Your Gods, those Gods of might and power- are dreadfully wrong and twisted. They do not have enough wisdom, enough justice to rule this world."

"Our Gods made this world! I do not know who your Master is but he surely used you all for his own wicked purposes!"

"My parents died why I was young! I saw the face of Articuno myself, pass us by, she flew over us just before they left this world!" the Vaporeon spat out her words, "Your Gods are overrated. Look at your friend, he is the very center of their evil!"

Shadow was appalled, "Can't you-can't you see how twisted your views are!?!?! What is wrong… with you?!?"

The fight had gone out of her, the anger turned to shock. This creature… truly believed in whatever she had been told, she had a basis for good and evil- her elders had swapped the facts around!

"Then, tell me… What does your Master see you as? A tool? A weapon?"

The Vaporeon shook her head, the previous venom in her gone, "We are the precious grains of sand that make up this world. We are as important as our Lord himself. Each of us has a vital part to play… as my Master."

Shadow shook her head and looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that her fight had gone on, longer then expected. Koja was pounded his last opponent hard and Zan was helping Inferno with his. Ditto had finished and was glanced at her. She nodded to him.

"Then…" Shadow bit her lip.

This had to be the last question. For her own probing and questions and another.

"Who is your Master's Master?"

The Vaporeon let her tail swing out suddenly, letting the flow of water from her body continue, "Fate."

Shadow took a step back, these facts and beliefs so very disconcerting to her. She grimaced and jumped and kept herself suspended in midair with tendrils of dark energy.

A few seconds later 10 000 volts of electricity pounded into the pool of water inside the dome.

The Vaporeon was electrocuted instantly.

* * *


	24. Chapter 24: For the Greater Good

Lol... finally, Moonlight's Shadow comes to a close. The second last chapter of this whole story is here.

Thank you to all who have surived to this day and reviewed last time!

REMEMBER! This is not the last chapter, it's the second last. The last, is the aftermath, or epilogue if you should so wish to call it.

That is the final installment of Moonlight's Shadow.

Please stick around, because it's coming out either tomorrow and the day after.

Thank you, and enjoy!

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 24:

For the Greater Good

* * *

Shadow shook her head from where she stood with Koja, the two Pokemon surveying the field of the hour long battle silently. Inferno, Zan and Ditto had already left, having being forced away by Koja. The scattered bodies of the once infamous Council lay dead and stiff on various parts of the slope, Shadow forcing herself to look away at the Vaporeon she fought. She… was an innocent, grabbed in the Council by her power and had been caught up in the brutal clutches of war.

The Umbreon looked ahead where she and Koja would have to trek to the summit to meet the Dark Lord. She had no idea why she going, why she was beside him now. They both knew that she would be virtually no help and probably more of a hindrance then anything. This did not explain why Shadow still faithfully walked beside him, as if she were also walking to her death or why Koja dismissed everyone away- except her. Perhaps, dying alone without a single soul to care and be with you in the last moments of your life, was even worse then the already gruesome fate Koja had.

The two crawled slowly up the unforgiving mountainside, its sides steep and rocky. They could've flew with Koja's new found powers. They could've made the mountain forge a path for them, with the power of earth at Koja's beck and call. But they didn't. They only glanced at each other, and pulled each other up when the other slipped or fell.

It seemed to take an eternity to get to the top, the plateau. And even then, eternity seemed to take too little time to pass. Shadow didn't feel the creak of weary bones or bruised limbs. She was remaining calm, as was the Absol beside her. Inside her deepest nook, her deepest valley, the Umbreon was shaking- but those feelings had to stay inside. She couldn't buckle and shake. She was past that, right?

"The moon looked nice last night." commented Koja, breaking the silence,

"It did," replied Shadow, unsure why Koja borught it up at this sudden time.

"Maybe when my time comes, and I'm up there... they'll let me stay with the Moon."

Shadow nodded mutely, unsure of why he said it.

"At least then, I can watch you at night."

The Umbreon nodded again, wondering with pain how he could talk aobut his own after life and death so easily.

Koja smiled, "You'll understand one day."

The bond between the two of them wasn't rock hard, concrete strong. It wasn't the strongest thing that ever lived and never would be. It was fragile, brittle. But it was strong enough for both of them to make it to the top.

The top.

Shadow gazed around the flat, rocky piece of land that was the top of the mountain. It was almost eerily silent, the only sounds being that of the wind. It looked deserted… but there was such a distinct feeling… such a certain presence of something watching them… something watching them with such a… precise intent.

Shadow closed her eyes and dipping her head, she spread her inner self out through the plateau. Tendrils of dark energy weaved around rocks and dead trees, trying to find, trying to locate that being. She could feel its power… it's immense power- but where was it? It certainly knew they were there but it had yet to make an appearance. Shadow swallowed in anticipation, wondering what this 'Dark Lord' might be. This… thing, had made the Gods tremble and quake with fear which a single whisper of its name. The Immortals, they, those divine beings had not even seen or touched this creature but still, they felt it, and trembled.

To think that an Absol, even pumped unnaturally with immense with power could stand up to such a thing… Shadow shook her head. She knew she shouldn't falter in her faith of Koja but even so, it was almost seemingly impossible…

Shadow snapped her eyes open suddenly as her tendrils of power and inner self snapped back into her being with such frightening speed and velocity that Umbreon gasped and coughed out blood. It felt like a thunderbolt had hit her heart full on. She… had found the creature though. Her head turned towards a large boulder to her right. Koja followed her gaze.

Immediately, the Absol bent his head, his tail sticking straight into the air and opened his mouth, letting a large ball of fire erupt from his mouth. It catapulted through the air, streaking through the wind so fast that Shadow only had enough time to snap her head towards that boulder to be able to see it explode. Huge shards of hot rock came crashing through the air and the Umbreon scampered backwards to avoid them, all the time, her eyes transfixed on what was left of the boulder, smoke shrouding her vision.

Soon enough, a figure could be made out, a hazy outline in the grey smoke. Shadow opened her mouth, startled. This… Dark Lord. His form, so small… He was the same size as she and Koja… Even Inferno was bigger then this thing…

A creature, the size of an Umbreon, not even bigger than a Growlithe, stirred fear and terror in the entire group of Gods and Goddesses of legends!? It seemed impossible. But her eyes, her keen blue eyes that kept blinking in disbelief… they did not, they could not deceive her. Shock turned into fear as the figure started to very slowly, move towards them. There is something most frightening about an unknown thing, that you can see but know not what it is… stepping calmly and quietly, almost peacefully towards you- and all you inner senses are screaming that you should run.

Beside her Koja was struggling with his shock, her emotionless mask switching constantly. The Absol drew a deep breath. And both Pokemon had the same thought. Time to see…

Who or what this thing really was.

Koja exhaled, letting a gentle breeze blow away the remaining smoke.

Their eyes widened. This… This wasn't what they expected.

Shadow wanted to run, to tear her eyes away. The striking resemblance… So much the same from those age old descriptions… A complete mirror image…

The one and only- who else could it be?

Lord Koja. The Pokemon, the soul, who made so much effort, bore so much pain to make the race of Evees great.

But. If he was good?

Why did all her senses scream that he was evil?

--------------------------------------------------

For a minute, the small group stood there. Shadow made no noise, her mouth seemingly unable to produce sound. Koja just stared, not knowing exactly… who, this creature was- but there had to be something so much more sinister then the small form he was currently using. Power crackled and snapped at the air surrounding the Dark Lord and the Absol looked closer, seeking some small clue in the creature's appearance as to what species it was. He found none… It was impossible to tell. He was some sort of hybrid Eevee maybe… Koja drew his breath back.

The Pokemon's cool blue skin had drops of clear water running down it, freezing into shards of ice every other few seconds. It looked almost like a Va- suddenly, the water and ice on the Pokemon seemed to melt… into flames, from blue to yellow, to orange and finally into a fiery burning red. Bright yellow fur grew out out of the once blue skin and what was not yellow was a reddish orange. Again and again, these transformations took place, each form only lasting for a few moments. Each form had a distinct familiar sight to it, but the Absol could not place what it was still…

Finally the beast began to talk.

"So… You've finally come."

Shadow and Koja didn't speak. After all, conversation (which actually sounded quite civilized) wasn't what they were expecting… Something more along the lines of a massive, powerful beast which could destroy both of them with a single swipe of his claw seemed more likely… But then, it could be a disguise anyway.

"I suppose your so called Gods sent you here, didn't they?" a sound of contempt made its ways into the Pokemon's features, "And they can't even stop little ole me. Come now, talk or something. Or are you both just all brawn and no brain. What a pity."

Shadow quickly found her tongue, the more they talked, the more time Koja would probably have to live, "Are you… The Lord Koja?"

The beast shrugged, "I was. The one who is so important to you Eevees and your brethren- if I remember my past from ages gone."

"What… are you?" This was now Koja, his whole body quivering from head to toe, the Absol ready for battle.

"I'm a genetic mix of the five elemental eons." The Dark Lord changed quickly through them as an example, "It comes from… a lot forces battling in me."

Koja nodded, understanding, his eyes apprehensive, waiting for this seemingly meaningless banter to explode into pure combat.

"B-but… Why?" asked Shadow, "You gave our, my race so… much. You're too good… You can't… be the Dark Lord."

"But I am, dear child, I am." A wicked grin was stretched wide across his face, "You doubt my power?"

"No, she doesn't." Koja shook his head and stepped in front of the Umbreon, suddenly realizing that their foe had the advantage here, he could choose to attack at any moment now…

From behind Koja, Shadow craned her neck, "But… why? Why go against the Gods? They granted you the power to-"

Lord Koja cut her off, his voice gaining a bitter tone, "Granted me power. Perhaps that's why half the world thinks I'm dead and the other half alive. They couldn't keep any of the truth in. Mew didn't spew some nonsense and give me the power I needed. I was basically dead when I reached the heavens… before I was kicked down again. The power that's been passed down to you, was a centuries worth of collecting energy and imbuing and empowering every single freaking stone I found."

He spat onto the ground. Shadow was about to shake her head, proclaim it was all a lie, but her gut shook her head. It was the way he said it… the pure venom in his eyes, the raw emotion… The Gods began to shrink into something small inside of her, as the Umbreon realized… that they weren't half as great as the legends made them out to be. Koja himself looked uneasy. Was this all in vain?

Who were the real ones at fault, the real enemies?

There was something odd, something off putting to learn that your Gods, the divine deities in your world weren't up to your expectations, that they could have fault, that…

"They're not perfect. Far from it in fact. All they have is power and a lot of years behind them." Snapped the Dark Lord, "Can you now see why I made an army, ran round the land, searching for followers… They need to fall. They are not wise. They are far from holy. Do you want to go on living in a world where your Gods have the same moral faults as any mortal? That all they have is accumulated wisdom?"

Neither spoke a word, Koja starting to tremble in confusion. Was he meant to kill this thing… or not?

"But they care for us… They love us…" tried Shadow weakly.

"Lies. Again." Snarled the beast, "I was turned down by every God in this world, just because I wanted the power for my race. Deny it all you want, I don't mind. It's a lot scarier living in the world with the truth humming in your ears, your towers of refuge, destroyed. After all, someone's going to die here anyway."

Koja gritted his teeth at the way the Dark Lord said it. So matter of fact… Like chatting conversationally. Shadow was torn. Her beliefs, her religions… all shattering in a single second. It was painful. Death would be only too sweet if she could only get away from this suddenly wretched world… This whole wretched universe?

But could she? The Gods controlled heaven and hell… Shadow took a deep harsh breath, reality crashing down on her.

All the lives of the Pokemon before her, the leaders, the priests- they'd been living in a complete and utter lie.

"I know I'm dying here." Murmured the creature, "I don't hate either of you. In fact, I wouldn't want to kill you. I expected… someone older… someone I could hate… Someone who had as much vengeance for me as I have for the Gods. But you're both… still so young- so innocent."'

Lord Koja sighed, clenching and unclenching his right paw.

"Your evil! I know it!" retorted Koja, "This is a trick- any stupid person can pull off some rap about the Gods become some kind of-"

"What do you define good," interrupted Lord Koja smoothly, "What do you define evil?"

Koja opened his mouth to rattle off another reply but he didn't get the chance.

"If I'm evil kill me. I know you have the power to do so."

The balatant outright statement caused both Shadow and Koja to freeze in their tracks. At their young age, they stilled held the ideal that life was too beautiful to let go.

"If I'm good, what are you going to do? If I'm evil, it'd be so much simpler, wouldn't it? What do you define good, what do you define evil? Everyone has their own ideals, yours seem to be different to mine…"

"Why… Why the bloodshed… Why your crazed followers… Why all this?" The Umbreon's tone seemed to have a plead on it.

"Because I wanted my life to some meaning… Because I wanted the Gods, the Pokemon of the World to see that even mortals can have power, that even mortals can turn immortal. That the Gods are not the only ones who are special. That the world can know that heroes and role models don't have to be divine, power and goodness combined can be someone other then a God. That mortals can do extraordinary things. I'm not saying I'm good, or powerful, or anything else. I'm leaving the route for mortals open, open to surpass any mortal boundaries for future generations."

The beast turned to look far down, far far down, at the battlefield below, "I know my followers understood that much, I'm just waiting for the world to see it. But my time has come, the world won't see it if I'm alive to tell the tale, or in a couple of years. It'll take time. Time which my old body cannot handle or muster. I've had enough of this world."

At this, the Dark Lord turned his eyes tiredly towards Shadow, signaling that some of his words were specially for her.

What he meant, Shadow did not fully understand. But at least she could remember them until she did.

The eyes swung to Koja next, another look, another message.

_Destiny. Fate._

_You have yours and I have mine._

_It just so happens that when they cross…_

_We have to die._

_For the greater good._

_For the greater good._

Something clicked in the Absol's eyes and Shadow looked at him, confused, unsure of what was going to happen next.

But.

But, the Umbreon knew what was going to happen.

Her conscious mind just refused to admit it.

Of course, it had to know, sometime.

The seconds ticked by. The Absol came nearer to the beast.

"_Please…"_ cried the Umbreon.

But she suddenly stopped, remembering there would be no divine deity listening, no one to save her, no one to save him.

No all mighty lord to swoop down to save the day, to let every side of the battle be free and happy.

The seconds slowed down, but still the Absol kept walking.

Shadow's world suddenly seemed so much bleaker, so much greyer…

So pointless, so wretched.

But something clicked in her own eyes as she remembered…

Lord Fate.

So she called, she pleaded in her mind, so sure… sure that this new god or higher power would listen, would turn the tables.

But alas. Fate listens to few, and offers little comfort.

It only whispered, _for the greater good_.

Shadow didn't understand, not like the two Pokemon before her.

She would, one day, but not today-

"_No… No… No…!" _

Silent screams echoed in the air and the Umbreon's mouth opened and closed, trying to make sound come out. The world was lonely with no one to call on. She crept forward, her ears suddenly magnifying the almost soundless footfalls Koja made by tenfold. She had no idea why her paws were moving, walking… She just felt she… had to do it.

Had to stop them… Had to try…

Koja was inches away from his target now and Shadow realized with sudden despair that she'd never get there in time-

The Absol's head snapped around as he raised his paw towards the Dark Lord.

"Just remember, kid. Life goes on."

She opened her mouth to speak, but Koja's paw moved towards the Dark Lord quicker then it should have and in less then of a second, Shadow world crashed into pure white.

Fiery searing white, burning white, painful white.

Sound screamed high low, her eardrums wanting to explode.

The Umbreon vaguely felt rock fragments crash into her rib cage, breaking it… but that was nothing, nothing like the total pain and hellfire that was ravaging her body.

It ripped through all her senses, sending blazing fire through her viens, her legs, her stomach, her head…

Was there anything this power white, this power would not attack!?

What was happening!?

The Umbreon tried to keep her eyes open but they were forcefully shut, her eyes burning from the bright light.

Shadow felt fear rock through her as she felt her mind slowly leave her body, the pain receding to numbness as death tightened its clutch on her.

_Stop! Please… Stop! _

But, there is reckoning with death, you simply have to fight.

And so Shadow did. She was young, and even if her world seemed bleak and pointless, it was still a world. A place to live, to laugh, to grow.

And to maybe follow the older Koja's path.

She was going to die- but not now. Not on this worthless plateau, not in this searing heat!

As if giving a final thrust, a final push, Shadow felt her own body welcome her.

The Umbreon opened her eyes and slowly looked around

The air was completely silently, as if she were deaf, as if she could hear nothing.

She could smell nothing, feel nothing, see nothing… but endless white.

Was this a void, where the dead went, was it heaven, was it hell?

No. It neither. Shadow slowly saw the white recede, not noticing at all that her fur was almost all gone and her body badly burnt and full of broken bones.

The plateau looked like hell had been and went. Trees were ripped and torn, boulders had shattered into mere pieces. The ground, which had been pure rock, had deep craters in it. But… no beings… None alive or dead.

Shadow looked around, the wind digging into raw wounded skin and singed fur.

There. She… found them.

Oh good gods no… No… no… no….

No body… at least not one that would be recognizable. The Absol's proud horn was almost gone, the pure bone had been eaten away. His fur all singed, his skin an black, unearthed after his fur had been burnt away. But not even his skin could last that blazing inferno. Some parts of it had been ripped and bone was revealed to the surface, his eyelids shut, the whole body a pitiful sight.

Shadow didn't bother to look at the other heap of bones there.

Heaving sobs were coming up her chest, her eyes beginning to fill with tears and stepped nearer.

She walked next to him, laying her head on his.

When the Gods came, when they came to see the results, all they found was an Umbreon staring them with eyes that screeched a certain something.

What is was, could not be described in mere words, but it ripped at their emotions, it came colder then any icy storm, angrier then any temper, and more anguished then any soul that had ever lived.

And then the words, sounds that could be interpreted finally came…

_For the greater good_ she whispered, _for the greater good._

* * *


	25. Chapter 25: Epilogue

On the 21st of July 2005, Moonlight's Shadow came online. Today is the 11th of January 2007. Moonlight's Shadow is officially COMPLETED.

And it only took… 1 year, 5 months and 21 days.

25 Chapters with 66,778 words; 63 walloping reviews; 3901 hits; 13 fav's and 10 alerts. nn

Oh yes… I don't own Pokemon. Can't forget that on the last installment, can we?

Hello reader, last long author's note of them all.

Because I don't think you'd want to read a hulking A/N at the end, it comes now!

I don't care if you don't know what this 'fic is about and only clicked on the last chapter for no reason OR if you read and reviewed to a certain point or here and there OR if you've been here from pretty much start to end, or just somewhere to the end… THANK YOU! You've got to do something to click this… and read. And this is for those unknowns out there who just read. Thank you to you also. Even without reviews, the hits and author alerts let me know your there. THANK YOU AGAIN! After all, what is a story with no one to read it?

To those who Reviewed:

I got those wonderful reviews somewhere. Yep, they came from you. I want to thank you all so, so SO much. Before I wrote this story I had no faith in any ability to write whatsoever. The reviewers gave me something that I NEVER had. Confidence. Thank you very very much. They gave me support, they cheered me up (especially what some people said ), they made me go on high and go cartwheels around the house, they gave me advice, they told what they thought of this story, they made me feel like lots of people wrote me letters, they made me feel that someone actually cared and bothered enough to say something.

I don't care what you said (especially since there were no flames) I just really really want to thank you! I hope most of you get to read this one day and know how much you actually GAVE me through me. THANK YOU! Firstly, a small list of names to those who reviewed (pen names change so):

\--\-- Lise icali --\-- .Aurorablu. --\-- Corlis --\-- Unforgiving Fate --\-- Twilight the Umbreon --\-- Arrrgh --\-- STEELIXLOVER --\-- Bubblefox473 --\-- Digital Skitty --\-- Names Are Overrated --\-- Foxyjosh --\-- lugia flyhight --\-- Someone --\-- Thief Master --\-- Gardie --\-- Sunlitsong --\-- Shiguya of the sands --\-- WildTotodile --\-- Hana --\-- kc --\-- Warrior of Darkness --\--\

Okay. Now to special mentions. Yes I'm sorry this is taking so long, but some people seriously need to get mentioned. I would give you all special mention but I don't have enough author note space without something flaming me… Sorry TT Firstly…

**Lise icali:** You changed your penname I think but you were the very very very first reviewer… You only did review once or twice but you had really really nice kind words in the beginning, I actually ran around the room squealing for about 2 minutes after reading it… Thank you for being so nice to a little newbie author!

**Foxyjosh:** Okay, you weren't the first or even near first. But once you started reviewing… you never EVER stopped. Whenever I posted a chapter I KNEW I was going to get at least one review and even when I only got one review I was so touched that you would keep going and keep supporting me no matter what! Lol, I remember I mentioned you either in the summary on in my profile, remember? You reviewed FOR EVERY SINGLE chapter after you got going, even when I was feeling down you would review… I'm serious you are basically the reason why I am here, typing this final chapter on the PC. I don't even think I deserve to have someone this faithful… THANK YOU SO SO SO SO much. Your reviews meant the world to me. THANK YOU!

**Hana:** You weren't on and most people who anonymously read stories don't review… I'm serious, I was at the end of my wits that day and I didn't want to continue. When I saw your review I nearly cried (yes I'm very emotional)- I was really REALLY touched. You actually bothered and to think that someone came in and read the whole way through from beginning… THANK YOU! I really do hope you see this!

**WildTotodile**, **Thief Master**, and **STEELIXLOVER:** The three of you, supported me majorly for quite a bit I always so looked forward to all of your reviews. I was half flattered that'd I get three mostly faithful reviewers… You offered me BOTH praise and advice… Which I always loved. I dunno where you guys went but THANK YOU!

**Warrior of Darkness:** You came late… But you ALWAYS made me laugh upon reading you dialog and your reviews! Cheering me up was the one thing I could count on for you… Thank you so so so much! I was half shocked that someone would pick this 'fic up (when nobody did) and starting reading AND reviewing. It really gave me some kind of speedy motivation to write… Thank you!

Okay that done. Lol, this author's note is probably longer then the story… But I can't help it, too many people to thank.

Anyway, loose ends. Business. So originally Shadow was meant to die and the story would be completely straightforward and follow the prophecy completely. Then I realized it'd be boring like that and tried to make it less obvious that Shadow was the 'fated' one. Finally I scrapped the whole idea altogether and placed Koja in the hot spot. The was also the sudden theme towards the end that the gods weren't perfect and all that. Inspired by a one shot called 'Final Flame' I wrote. I might have a 'fic one day with that being a major theme… lol, maybe. Anyway, Shadow's age. Yeah… That one is a wee bit complicated and I know you really want that epilogue so it comes to this. I know. This story has a lot of screwed up ideas, could bes, would bes, bad plot, Mary Sues, overangst and no character. So, if your wondering about anything, ask in your review or PM me. I'd be more then willing to explain.

Next… Like I said, this story is screwed up. No doubt about it. I had a 're-edit' phase which took yonks because I suddenly realized the fic was looking really really bad. After that, I realized the damage had been done and tried to make it decent as much as I could. Now here comes the end. I'm not satisfied… but I'm willing to let it go. This… was my first ever story that was taken seriously. It was part of my lifestyle for 1-2 years (yep, onto the computer every night for at least a half hour to get something done). And I'm serious, writing everyday for a half hour really helps… My readers may see or not see the improvement. And yeah, this story has no bounds on its own improvement.

I actually can't really believe I got this far. In the beginning, I was just a little new author who had her head full of Pokemon, fantasy, legends Gods and decided to stuff it all into a piece of epic writing. Moonlight's Shadow is derived from the song Moonlight Shadow because I liked the angst and drama of it. I had no idea what plot was, what good characterization was, I had no idea of anything. I just read some 'fics thought I could do something like that and strummed away. This is why my plot has things that hasn't matched up, left you not wanting to read this, and why my characters don't have character… AND a lot of other things. I know practically everything is screwed up- major time… But now it's over and thank you AGAIN from coming here with me.

Lol, I'm getting there, I know it's just hard to believe it's finally over… I guess I can look back and see with some fondess that this is what got me started into serious writing… Kind of sad, like growing up, you know? I loved everything about doing it though, the reviews, the chapters… I HAVE looked forward to this day, (is it normal, getting emotional over something like this!?), since battling with bad plot and characters was tough… I'm definitely ready to go on to other things. While I love this 'fic and I'm extremely grateful to everyone who helped me in this, I have always wanted to finish this and start real writing. I'm not exactly sure if I'll ever go back to writing Pokemon again (the craze is gone) but you never know…

W00t, the final paragraph, thank you… everyone. Final lines… I have no inspirational words other then if you wanna write, write everyday and get something like this completed… It helps. But I guess thanks. For everything…

Anyway, you wanna see what happens now, right? So please, read the last chapter of Moonlight's Shadow and enjoy, as always.

* * *

Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 25:

Epilogue

* * *

Her pack had kept their proposal open- they wanted her back.

She was no longer a demon, a monster, a freak.

That role has oh so conveniently been transferred to someone else.

Someone who was now dead.

But even if she had longed for this for so long, for so many months, for so many years she had simply shook her head, smiled and refused. After that, Shadow never made contact with her old pack again. To the very present those in that pack and those who knew her thought this was an act of revenge, to turn the tables, to shun her old pack just like they had shunned her. But it wasn't. If anything, Shadow still sometimes struggled with urges to come back to the pack. Deep inside, if she even thought about rejoining, deathly images of Koja would flash through her mind, even one enough to convince her that she should be independent.

She did not blame anyone for his death for a large portion of her life had been brought up with prophecies and myths and legends. And she would never, even if she somehow could, take his place as a sacrifice. Sometimes it was that Shadow fought for life so much, that she couldn't give it up because she knew how precious it was, how she had fought to keep it at her Ceremony of Evolution, how she fought to live it through her childhood. Other times, it was because she knew it was because Koja had no more life in this world. He would never, even if he lived, go back to his pack, release himself of his exiled rank, change his ways… too much damage had been done to him. But even so, this did not stop the mourning… the grieving.

For a period of less than a year this Absol had made more impact on her then anyone else she'd ever known. He was her guardian, the Pokemon who would never let her get hurt, her kindred friend, her wisest mentor, an elder brother- things she'd always dreamed of. He fulfilled a role as a subtle foster parent, an aching gap that had been in her heart for many years. These things she took for granted for so, so long… until now when she finally came to love him and respect him… far too late.

The world had been shaken by that epic battle, and scars of war took time to heal. Koja was immediately made into a legend, a rebirth of Lord Koja, like the rise of a magnificent phoenix. The Absol's half decimated body was given a full ceremony of passing, most likely the biggest funeral that had been held. Shadow didn't cry at this ceremony. Only when everyone had gone and the night was deep did she start to weep. Shadow was repeated questioned what happened on that rocky mount, but she only gave fleeting details. She did not care to break the world's happiness again by telling them that Lord Koja had been the Dark Lord nor did she say anything out the truth he spoke.

The Dark Lord's followers faded back so easily that it seemed easy to forget that they ever existed. But Shadow knew, for if she passed one, made contact with one, they treated her with respect.

Pep grew up, as all innocent Pokemon must do sometime in their life. Pep, in particular, grew up during the days after Koja and Skye's death. She would never again want to use the name 'Pep' and stuck to Pepper, her original name. And with the loss of bliss innocence came the loss of other things as well… Pep was never full of trust of friendliness as she had been before… those traits somehow were lost forever. And while she was still a very loving and caring thing, Shadow and the rest that knew her, mourned for the lost of the old 'Pep'- for something had changed dreadfully.

Throughout her numerous travels through the world, Shadow stopped by to where Pep lived, every year or so. By these times, Pep had grown up and had a mate and both Pokemon would meet only on the night when the moon was full. Both sat together on some secluded hill, words being forgotten as the two Dark Types merely let past memories flicker through their mind. The two, out of the original group and ragtag cast were at last the only ones that kept in touch, albeit one night. As the years went the trips became less and less frequent, the yearly visit dropping to once in two years to once in three years till after the time between each visit becoming larger and larger until Shadow never came again.

Sami, Inferno, Ditto and Zan said their goodbyes to her and the rest a long time ago. And although Shadow never saw them again, she always knew, somehow, that there were well alive and traveling. Traveling, she always suspected through the various mountain ranges, hills and forests. They were wanderers, as was she. She hoped they were doing well.

It took Shadow awhile still, to accept the fact that she no longer was a monster, that her blue eyes were not some kind of infliction. And even then, the dark still frightened her on certain nights. She still kept to the light if she could. At least some things never changed from that time.

That time… the time where her life changed so dramatically so suddenly and so many things had happened… Shadow never forgot that. If anything, it seemed that her life had ended when the Dark Lord had been banished and the adventure had closed to an end. She never made contact with the Gods again. And even when they tried to contact her, she hid and refused any sort of communication. Perhaps she had had too much of them. Or perhaps maybe, the Umbreon understood at last the meaning of the Dark Lord's words, that her mind and heart finally decided to accept those painful truths. That Gods were not that much greater then the mortals themselves. That mortals could do Godly things. Like Koja.

Shadow didn't have some kind of spiritual connection with him after he passed on, or even has some kind of sense that he was there with her. She knew that he had known the Dark Lord's words… so heaven, the one controlled by Mew was not an option nor was hell. Where he went? Only she knew. But that first year after, the first year without him was definitely extremely lonely. But then, after wards, she knew she had the moon. Only few will understand it's significance, though, and it's link to Koja.

Through the rest of the life, it might have been nice to say that Shadow rose to worldwide fame and acquired far more power that she had ever imagined she would have. That she rose and conquered the Gods, that she let Koja be reborn again. That she could spread the message of the Dark Lord's as a climax of her life. But that is not the truth, sadly. Shadow never became one of Godlike strength, though, through the years she did steadily become a fearsome opponent to tangle to with. After the Dark Lord had been banished, the memory of that singular Umbreon began to dwindle away. Only certain members of the White Paw Pack remembered and even then, they forgot her name. They dubbed her Moonlight's Shadow, primarily Shadow because that's what they could remember. Shadow's real name was lost forever in the sands of time. But even so, they carried on her story by word of mouth through their pack, detailing the seven most important months of her life.

So Pokemon remembered this hazy legend, and even more, began to believe in it as Shadow made her existence known slowly, but surely. They began to believe that normal Pokemon could do Godly things, that they could do amazing things and have power. Shadow was a small proof of this. However she was only building the foundations.

Maybe one day… someone from a future generation would follow in her footsteps.

--------------------------------------------------

_As one gazes into the light cast by the moon at night_

_You might see a single thing, a single silhouette,_

_Following it's illumination into the distance._

_She does not speak, she does not smile._

_She has no pack, no tribe, no family._

_She travels by night, sleeps during the day._

_Her eyes an icy blue, her face set with the hardships she has faced._

_Her past hold the memories that keep her alive._

_Her present are the fleeting deeds she does to keep herself remembered._

_Her future is full of years eternal, a blessing by the Gods._

_Her fur is black, her ringlets golden._

_She has no obligations, no acquaintances, no affiliates._

_She needs none no more._

_And she will remain that way_

_For as long as the wind blows and the moon shines._

_Because she is Moonlight's Shadow._

_Nothing greater_

_Nothing less, _

_Nothing more._

Because she is Moonlight's Shadow.


End file.
